FIRSTS
by SALLYSAYSRELAX
Summary: A COLLECTION OF ELIZABETH AND HENRY'S FIRSTS
1. Chapter 1

First glance

 _October 3rd 1986_

'What are you having, Lizzie?' Joey asked his friend.

'I'll have a latte,' she answered.

'One latte coming up.' Elizabeth was looking for a place for her and her friend to sit in the crowded coffee bar. She was desperate for a good cup of coffee before her first class of the day started. As she was scanning the room, her eye fell on a guy, a couple of years older than her. That's what she thought. He was in a conversation with an older man she had seen before around on campus. The latter was probably a professor at UVA. She couldn't help but look away. The young guy was talking so passionately about god knows what. His hands were making all kinds of wild gestures to add to the conversation.

Joey snuck up behind her. 'Here you go, Lizzie.'

She turned around and accepted the cup greedily. 'Thanks, Joey.'

'Have you found us a seat?'

'Euh,' she hesitated. No she hadn't found them a seat. She hadn't even looked for a spot for them to sit. Just then, two girls left their spot and Joey noticed immediately. 'Over there. Let's go.'

She cast one more glance at him. The guy. Then she turned her attention to Joey and followed him. 'Let's go.'

* * *

 _November 24th 1986_

Elizabeth opened the door of her professor's office. She'd been summoned to his office to talk about her latest paper that she'd handed in. She'd got an A. The A of Again, so it seemed. She got nothing but As. Her insights into the various topics were something her professors were very interested in.

She stepped outside into the corridor that seemed endless. Just outside the office, Henry was waiting in one of the wooden chairs, ready to speak to that same professor just like the other four students that were waiting in the adjacent chairs. He glanced up at the beaming girl that stepped outside. Her smile was so bright. She looked happy, deliriously so. Her conversation must have gone well. Closing the door behind her. She turned and started her walk down the long corridor. Henry's gaze followed her every move. The most beautiful human being he had ever seen, that she was for sure. She walked so gracefully. How his heart stopped when one of her books fell from her arms. She turned around and picked it up. Just then, as she turned, he was able to see her eyes. How they sparkled. He was pulled out of his reverie as his professor stepped outside and summoned McCord into his office. His mouth wide open, he stood up and cast one more glance at the beautiful blonde making her way into the cold that was waiting for her outside. Her ponytail was wobbling and seemed to share in her happiness. Whatever the conversation with his professor would bring, he was happy too.


	2. Chapter 2

First words

 _1_ _st_ _December 1986_

It had been one week since he'd seen her around on campus. He had been on the lookout for her throughout the majority of his days. He had looked for her at the park; the first snow dragged many students to the park for snow fights. He had looked for her in the never-ending corridors of UVA. Throngs of students were walking these hallways constantly, everyone on edge as many deadlines had to be reached. He had looked for her at the dorms whenever he was visiting one of his friends. When he was getting coffee, he hoped he'd see her appear but nothing.

Having a couple of deadlines himself and having to do some much needed research, Henry decided to head for the library. His work was progressing better than expected. He was totally caught up in a book, so much so that he was completely oblivious to his surroundings. When he was finished with this rather difficult chapter, he decided to make some notes about what he'd read. He closed the book and started on the draft version of his second paper that day. It was then that something caught his attention. He looked to his left and there she was. Entering the library. It was her. in the library. He hadn't looked at anyone who entered the library. Yet, he was drawn to her and when he was least expecting to see her, he finally saw her again. He watched her as she overlooked the library. It was crowded but there were still some tables available. He followed her every move. His heart stopped when she decided to sit down at the long table that was parallel to Henry's. She was sitting right in front of him and he could not not look at her.

Her hair was in a loose bun high on her head. She was wearing a dark blue hoody and a loose pair of washed off jeans with white sneakers. She was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. Beautiful doesn't even begin to describe her. Her eyes, he had never seen eyes this light of colour. Were they green or blue or grey? He couldn't tell. Her mouth was slightly opened. Focused on installing everything she needed for an afternoon of studying. How he would love to see her smile. In his mind she had the most stunning smile he could imagine. He made a mental note of making her smile today and see for himself whether or not his guessing was true. Her hands were going to her pants pocket from which she withdrew a pair of reading glasses. She put them on her cute nose. He followed her every move, he noticed every twitch, and every movement she made was burned in his memory forever. As if she hadn't been totally perfect already, she drew closer the pile of books that she'd carried with her upon entering. She picked up the first one and started _On Being and Essence_ by Thomas Aquinas. He knew she was the one for him from probably that moment onwards.

He could look at her forever. Every single person in the library was hard at work. So should he. But he didn't dare to look away. Afraid he'd lose her from his sight again and he didn't want that. He could not go another week with not seeing her. He kept on looking. After a while, she looked up. Her mesmerizing eyes locked with his. Fireworks. She'd seen him. Finally. He was staring, and kept staring. She let out the tiniest sigh. Was it surprise? Was it fatigue? Was it nervousness? She looked down, distracting herself, so it seemed, with another chapter. Her cheeks turned a bit rosy. He could tell. She was looking down at the book in front of her on the table, but she wasn't reading. He could tell. She wasn't turning any pages at the incredible pace she had been doing earlier. He could tell.

As the minutes passed by, more and more people left the library. Unnoticed by Henry, nor by the beauty who was indulged in Aquinas's work. Was she still indulged? He looked at the large clock in the far corner of the library. It was 6.30. There were only a total of five people left in the large reading hall. Now was the time.

He gets up. His chair makes a typical sound as he pushes it a bit farther backwards with his legs. He rounds the large table and goes to stand right in front of her. All the while, not looking away from her. He sees that she starts blushing even more. She was so cute and he was going to make her smile and laugh and see her eyes sparkle. December 1st, 6.30 pm.

" _So Thomas Aquinas walks into a bar…"_

There it was. It was everything he had hoped for. First a wide smile, revealing her perfectly lined white teeth. Her eyes narrowing as her smile grew wider and wider. Then all of a sudden he heard a snort. She snorted. How cute was this. If anything, Thomas Aquinas always seemed to work for Henry. And for her as well. The ice was broken.

"Mind if I sit down?" he asked gesturing at the chair he was standing at. He sat down, across from her. He had the same spectacular view as he had when he was at his table. But he could see everything more clear now. Except for her eyes. He could not define the colour of her eyes. It was not blue, it was not grey, it was not green. It was a mixture of all those colours and he thought it was the most beautiful colour he'd ever seen. She gestured for him to sit down. Obviously not minding him sitting down across from her. He smiled. How happy he was that she let him sit so close to her.

"Hi, I'm Henry McCord."

She smiled before she answered. Was she still smiling because he knew he had made a fantastic joke or because she was genuinely glad he was keeping her company. "I'm Elizabeth Adams." Her smile broadened. She was genuinely glad.

Silence. He had to say something. His mind was racing. Where should he begin? He wanted to know everything all at once. He decided he was just going to be honest with her.

"I saw you last week when you left Professor Matthews office," he swallowed. "And, honestly, I've been wanting to run into you ever since." His mouth was open. God, the air was dry in here.

"Is that so?" she chuckled. Why did she chuckle?

Henry looked at her, questioning her silently. His determination was fading quickly. He felt much more uncertain about his bold move of sitting in front of her and talking to her. Did she think he was a creep? Was he a creep? She finally closed the book and leaned in a bit closer. "I saw you two weeks ago at the café when I was getting coffee with Joey."

She'd seen me before? I hadn't noticed her before? Who the hell was Joey? Henry's mind kept going places he'd rather not visit.

"You've seen me before?" he was surprised.

She nodded and still she smiled. "You were in a heated, passionate conversation with a professor I think."

Henry thought back to his coffee break with Professor Simmons. It was his turn to nod and smile. He kept on looking at her.

She looked down again. Unable to keep looking when he was staring so intently.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" Henry asked.

She looked up quickly. "No, no, euh, no." She glanced around nervously. They were alone in the library. Somehow every other student had left and she hadn't noticed. She was alone with a guy she had only seen once. "Actually, a little bit," she admitted as she gestured for him to see they were all alone.

Henry looked around as well. He was surprised to see everyone had left without him noticing. But then again, how could he ever notice anyone else when she was sitting there with him.

"I'm sorry for that. When did everyone leave?"

She snorted again, a bit more silent this time. "I don't know."

"Elizabeth, I –" he hesitated. He took a deep breath. And then he started rambling. "I think you're the most beautiful human being I've ever seen and I would like to get to know you better. I'm not a creep. I'm just blown away by your looks and your literary preferences," as he pointed towards the book lying closed and forgotten in front of her. I could talk about Aquinas for hours, because I'm probably a much bigger fan of him than you are. But I don't want to talk about Aquinas. I want to talk about you. I want to ask you what colour your eyes are because I can't make up my mind. I have been roaming around campus all week. And every time I've been hoping to run into you. Just to see you again. I'm not a creep. If you think I'm some sort of weirdo, I get that. If you're afraid of me, well you have my name and you can always go to the Dean or the pol…."

"Unless you kill me," she interrupted him.

He laughed. "I'm not a killer, I'm a theologian."

She smiled. "I was joking," she said. Somehow she knew he wasn't a killer or a creep for that matter. Was she being naïve? Was she being too easy?

"It's almost 7," Henry stated. "Would you like to go and have dinner with me?"

"Shit," she replied. She quickly got up and gathered her books and stationery. "I'm sorry, but I have to go. I made plans with Joey this evening. He's going to make me dinner at his place."

He closed his eyes and lowered his head. He nodded slightly. The defeat was obvious in his every fibre.

"How about tomorrow?" she asked him. A simple question; she made it seem so light as if it was the most casual thing to ask. He looked up at her. She was standing with her books in her arms, holding them tightly to her chest as to make sure none would escape from her grip.

"Really?" he asked.

"Really," was all she said.

"Okay, euhm, ah, - yeah, euh, tomorrow!" He didn't know what to do, what to say.

"Pick me up at …?"

"Oh, yeah, euhm, what about 6.30?"

"6.30 is perfect."

6.30 _is_ perfect. _She_ is perfect. And he is going to have dinner with her tomorrow. Is this a date? This _is_ a date! Oh my god, he's got a date. He started with a Thomas Aquinas joke and now he has a date with the girl who snorts. Elizabeth...

She was already on her way out when he called out for her again: "Wait, where do I pick you up?" He stood up and shouted hoping she would still hear him. His question echoed throughout the reading hall. He was so glad they were alone.

"The dorms, block A, room 103," she shouted. Her echo made sure he would never forget where she lived.

He slumped back in his chair. He sighed and smiled like a fool and looked around. He was on his own. But they would be together again tomorrow.

How he wished it was December 2nd, 6.30 already.


	3. Chapter 3

First date

 _2_ _nd_ _December 1986_

Yesterday, Henry had spent his precious time at the library just staring at her. However, he did not regret one single second of it. On the contrary, the beautiful blonde, the girl of his dreams had finally decided to show up again. When Henry awoke, he was ecstatic that today was finally the day he'd get to take her out. But first, work had to be done. With his paper due tomorrow, he figured he'd go back to the library after his breakfast to finish his reading and he decided to write his paper at his place in the afternoon.

Henry had been working on his paper like a frantic maniac all day. The hours flew by and at four, after proofreading it twice, Henry was finally satisfied with the result. He printed out his paper and cleaned out his desk. As his final draft was being printed, he realized he had been able to put his musings on hold for the better part of his day. Now, though, there was only one thing on his mind.

After a quick shave and a shower, Henry looked at himself in the mirror. He put on his favorite cologne. _Was it too much?_ God, he hoped not. He sighed. He went to stand in front of his closet. Jeans and a casual blue T-shirt would do for what he had planned for them. Besides, many people had confirmed that blue really was his color. He hoped she would like his idea of burgers and bowling. _Was she the 'burgers-and-bowling-type-a-girl? Or did she rather want to go to a fancy place with overpriced foods that left you with hunger pangs afterwards?_ Henry exhaled as he looked at himself in the mirror. He needed to calm down.

It was five. He had been cramming all day to finish his paper and he had felt like he would not finish in time. Now he had an hour and a half to spare.

 _Should I buy some flowers for her? No, that was probably too much. Was it? But I should give her something, right?_ He sat down on his couch, his head in his hands as he took a deep breath. He rested against his couch; his eye fell upon his bookcase. A present might be too much, but he wanted to give her something that showed that he cared. _A book by Aquinas? Would that be too much?_ He was panicking. _What if she was not interested in Aquinas?_ She had been going through one of his books at an astounding fast tempo yesterday. _What if it was because she had wanted to finish reading that book as soon as possible?_ His mind was racing. He decided to forgo a present. Tonight would be about them. Not Aquinas, not anyone but them. _Or was there anyone else? Should I ask her about this Joey guy? Who was he? Was he handsome? Was he her boyfriend? What if their date last night was so good that they are an item now? Had it been a date? He was going to make her dinner at his place, that's what she'd said. They must get along and know each other quite well for her to go and have dinner at his place. What if she had spent the night with Joey? Would she still want to go out with me?_

Henry's mind drifted to the worst kinds of places. He got up quickly and decided to head out. He would go and clear his mind in the park near the dorms. He stepped outside into the cold; it was only then that he realized it was winter and that a T-shirt would not keep him warm. Thinking of Elizabeth, however, he never felt cold. He went back up to his apartment and put on his favorite dark green sweater, he grabbed his coat and a scarf. On his way out, he saw his wallet lying on the small table near the front door. Henry silently thanked god he had noticed his wallet before his girl had to pay for the date. Good thing it was just burgers and bowling then instead of the fancy restaurant. He checked his wallet and was happy he still had plenty of cash. The drive to the dorms only took him a little more than ten minutes. He parked his car in the parking lot. It was 5.45. Just 45 minutes until he would see her again. He was going to make it 30 minutes. He didn't want to be late. And maybe she was as nervous as he was and as eager as him to get their date started.

Henry entered the park. The cool air relaxed him somehow. A much needed escape from his racing mind. He mentally made a not of what they could possibly talk about this evening. He was going to ask her about her studies and where she grew up. He wanted to know if she had any siblings and what she liked doing in her spare time. He wanted to know about her childhood. He wanted to know what made her happy and what made her sad. He wanted to hold her hand. _Would she allow me to take her hand and hold it? Was that appropriate for a first date? Should I kiss her? Did she want to be kissed?_ He took one last breath and started heading back towards the dorms.

Elizabeth was standing, clad in just a bra and panties, in front of her closet deciding on what to wear.

"Where is he taking you?" Becky asked her from the bed she was sitting on.

"I have no idea!" Elizabeth sighed, frustrated obviously.

"Just go for those washed off black jeans that accentuate your ass, it makes all guys turn their heads."

Suddenly someone knocked on the door. Elizabeth was shocked. It was too early. She was not wearing any clothes.

"Girls, open up," Christine called from the hallway.

Elizabeth let out a sigh of relief that it wasn't Henry and that she still had some time to get ready. Elizabeth opened the door for Chris who immediately spotted Becky sitting on the bed. "Hi Beck, can I borrow your black nail polish?" Becky went to get it and handed it to Christine. "Thanks, gotta go. I'll bring it back in a minute when I'm done." Elizabeth finished the messy bun and put on some pants when there was another knock at the door. She looked at the clock on her bed, which read 6.15. She figured it was Christine bringing back the nail polish. Elizabeth opened the door only to find Henry standing right in front of her. Time stood still. She stood there in her bra. Thank god she was wearing pants. Henry's gaze went from her mesmerizing eyes to her juicy cleavage and she saw him swallow thickly. His mouth was wide open and notably dry. He looked down before he started talking. "I'm sorry, I'm too early. You're not ready. I'll just wait right here." Henry searched for the door handle blindly and closed the door for her. She hadn't moved, she hadn't said a word. She just stood there. When the door was finally closed, she turned around to cast a glance at Becky who was digging what had just unfolded before her eyes.

"OH MY GOD," Elizabeth mouthed.

"HE'S HOT," Becky mouthed as a reply as she put both her thumbs up.

Elizabeth stood in the middle of her dorm room and threw her arms up. Not knowing what to do. Her hand made contact with her head. She was nailed to the ground and she was blushing a dark shade of crimson.

"Well at least you know what to wear," Becky spoke first.

Elizabeth still seemed frozen.

"Lizzy, go get ready. Wear a shirt; he's casually dressed as well. Besides, it won't be the last time he sees you in your bra." She winked when she said that.

Elizabeth eyed Becky and grabbed her black shirt from the closet. She put it on in a hurry and fastened the buttons. Next, she hurried to the bathroom to apply some minimal make-up. She finished with a few pumps of her favorite fragrance. When she reappeared in the bedroom, Becky nodded her approval. Again, there was a knock at the door.

Elizabeth took in a deep breath and opened the door again. Expecting to welcome Henry properly this time, she saw Christine who handed back Becky's nail polish. "Thanks Becks," Christine somewhat yelled.

"Welcome," Becky replied.

"I'm relieved you don't always open your door half naked," Henry popped his head up from behind Christine.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes but couldn't help but blush at his words.

"I'm sorry about that," she lowered her head, ashamed and frustrated their date hadn't started the way it was supposed to.

"It's okay, I was too early, my bad. I was just really looking forward to seeing you again. I just didn't expect to see this much from you on our first date."

He was going to remind her of this the entire evening. She was certain of that, so she just decided to make him just as uncomfortable.

"Oh, so this is a date?"

It was his turn to look down now and be a little doubtful about himself. "Well, I was kind of hoping it would be a date."

He's sweet, she felt bad for teasing him already. She didn't want to hurt his feelings and make him feel uncomfortable but she couldn't help herself. "Well, I hope you don't always _come_ too early on a date."

He looked at her. She snorted, of course she did. And he could do nothing but smile.

"Ready?" he asked impatiently.

"Yeah, I just need to grab my coat and scarf," as she said that she realized he was still standing in the doorway. "Oh, I'm sorry, come in and meet Becky, my roommate."

Henry stepped inside and immediately made his way over to Becky.

"Becky, Henry. Henry, Becky," she introduced them to each other while looking for her coat.

"It' really nice to meet you, Becky." He was always the gentleman.

"Likewise, handsome," Becky teased.

"I'm all set," Elizabeth said as she appeared again.

As the two left her dorm room, Becky hauled back Elizabeth.

She whispered so only Elizabeth could hear her: "You need shoes, honey, and the top buttons of your shirt are all wrong."

Elizabeth looked down and redid the buttons of her shirt before picking up her favorite pair of boots. She looked at Becky once more and mouthed a silent 'thank you'. She blew the hair away that was in her face and turned to Henry who was in the hallway again.

"Nice to meet you, Becky," he waved as he stuck his head around again to say goodbye to Elizabeth's roommate.

"See you soon, Henry." Elizabeth turned her head around once more and shot her an angry look.

"Lizzy, relax. He likes you. A lot. Just go and enjoy," only her roommate could hear her.

With that, Elizabeth closed the door behind her and she and Henry stood in the hallway ready for their first date.

As he rounded the car after he had opened the door for her at the passenger's side, she took a moment to collect herself. He stepped in the car. "So, where are we headed?" she asked him, her curiosity immediately getting the better of her.

"I was hoping you liked burgers and bowling," he answered rapidly. The sooner he got it out, the sooner he would know whether she was up for it or not.

She looked at him with a tiny smirk on her lips.

"Or we could always go some place else if you don't …"

She interrupted him: "Burgers and bowling sound perfect."

He knew why she'd wanted to go for bowling and burgers after the very first round. _Damn, this girl could bowl._ While Henry was still figuring out which ball suited him best to throw with, she threw nothing but spares and strikes. After their first game, Henry blamed his hunger feeling for his terrible game.

"Maybe, once I get some food in me, I'll be able to up my game. What do you say if we eat first?"

Elizabeth chuckled. "Sure. Let's eat."

As they were waiting at their table for their burgers and sodas to arrive, Henry figured it was time to get to know her.

"May I just say you look really pretty tonight, Elizabeth?" He stared at her while he said it. He stared so intently that she could not doubt his words.

"Thanks, you don't look too bad yourself," she gave him a shy smile.

"So, what are you doing at UVA besides distracting me from my work in the library?"

"Excuse me, if I remember correctly, you were the one distracting me from reading Aquinas."

"Let's call it 'mutual distraction'." God, how he hoped they could keep on mutually distracting one another. "No, seriously, tell me."

"I study mathematics. I've always had an interest in it and the fact that math is always right. You can never go wrong with math. If you know what to do, you always find the correct solution. I like that certainty," she admitted.

"So, why UVA?" She had sparked Henry's interest.

"UVA was the obvious choice for me. I grew up right here in Virginia and I didn't want to be too far away from my brother who's still in high school."

"So, you have a brother?"

"Yes, his name is Will, he's in his senior year. Smart guy. A bit troubled, but he's the only family I have left."

Henry just looked at her after she'd uttered those last words. He swallowed. He searched for her eyes and he found a sadness he hadn't seen before.

She elaborated; the pain in her voice obvious. "My parents died five years ago. They were in a car accident. Will was with them but he made it out alive. Ever since, it's just been the two of us."

"I'm so sorry, Elizabeth. I didn't mean to… " Henry's voice trembled as he genuinely felt for her and her loss.

"Nothing to be sorry for," she said quickly. "You couldn't have known. So, do you have any siblings?"

"I'm the oldest of four. My sister Maureen is a true pain in the ass. You'll find out for yourself when you meet her some day. My brother Shane and sister Erin are quite alright."

Elizabeth's heart skipped a beat. ' _When I meet them?' Not 'if' but 'when'. Jesus, this guy is fast._ She decided on the spot to let it go. She smiled before she continued. "Wow, that's a full house. Where did you grow up?"

"I grew up in Pittsburgh. A nice and quiet neighborhood where everything was planned out for me."

"What do you mean?"

"My dad was opposed to me going to college. I'm the first one to actually go to uni. He's convinced that a college degree is not necessary to get your hands dirty and to bring home the bacon."

She nodded. "How does your dad feel about your studies now?"

"My mom says he's proud of me. He's just never shown his pride or any interest in my life here at UVA for that matter. But he's never been a man of many words. I've learned to live with it. It used to bother me but now…," he sighed, "not so much."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Henry."

He sighed and looked down. Just then, the waitress brought their food to the table. They immediately dug in. Elizabeth, however, while putting some extra salt and ketchup on her French fries, noticed how the waitress was checking Henry out. He was totally oblivious and only seemed to have eyes for the girl he was about to have burgers with.

In the blink of an eye, Elizabeth had finished her burger and all of her fries while Henry still had half a burger and more than half of his fries.

"Wow, you can eat as fast as you can bowl. Want some more fries?"

She gladly accepted. "I'm sorry," she said with a mouthful. "I'm used to eating alone most of the time and I just don't like to make time for eating. I'm always busy doing other things like reading or walking."

"You walk while you eat?" Henry put his burger down and chewed what was still in his mouth before taking a sip of his coke.

"Well, I spend a lot of time at the library, so mostly I just grab some take out and eat it while I walk from my dorm to the library."

"You should make time for dinner. It's supposed to be slow and relaxing and the part of your day that says 'enough already'."

She chuckled. "You sound just like Joey. He's always worried about my eating habits too."

There it was. This was the perfect opportunity for him to ask about Joey.

"And Joey is…," he asked hoping she would continue for him.

"He's my closest friend here at UVA. He's from Bahrain. He's a prince, actually. One day, he's going to be king, but he just doesn't want to think about that right now. He's just really enjoying the Western lifestyle and the open mindedness here. He's in all my classes and we hit it off immediately. He's really great."

"And he's the one who made you dinner last night, right?"

"Yeah, like I said, he's worried about my eating and every Tuesday he makes me dinner. He would make me dinner every day if it were up to him but I don't want to be a burden."

"But you'd like to eat at his place more often?"

"Well, yeah, why not? I mean, he's a great cook and all but I don't want to take advantage of him. I'm not friends with him because he's wealthy and can provide me with three course meals. I just like him for who he is. Not for the food he makes or for all the times he takes me out to dinner."

"He takes you out?"

"Not out on a date or anything like that. Just, sometimes, when we're really busy and he has no time to cook, we go out and have dinner somewhere. Nothing too fancy, though."

"I see."

Elizabeth could tell he was a bit intimidated and wanted to put him at ease. "And, as you can see, I eat really fast, so our restaurant visits last about an hour, tops."

Henry smiled at her words.

"Are you up for another round of bowling," she asked once Henry had finished the last of his hamburger. She had already taken care of his fries.

"I'm a bit worried that you're going to slay me after all the fries you've had but bring it on," he smiled and was happy she wanted to play at least another round. He was happy he had got to know her a bit better and he was relieved Joey didn't seem to be any more than just a good friend of hers.

He made his way to their bowling lane, where she had already knocked down all of the pins in just one throw. She turned and put her arms up in the air. God, how he loved seeing her sparkle like that.

After being destroyed by Elizabeth in 10 rounds of bowling, Henry threw in the towel. He sat down in the booth and asked her to sit with him.

"Where did you learn how to bowl like that?" he asked her.

"I'm just really good at ball games." She snorted.

Henry laughed out loud.

"No, seriously though. I can bowl, golf, play tennis, and shoot some hoops. I'm just really good with balls."

They were both cracking up at her admission.

"Anything you're good at?" Elizabeth asked while recovering.

"Ouwch!" His hands went to his heart. "That one hurt."

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean that."

"I will slay you at book club," he triggered.

"Wow, that's …," she didn't know what to say. She thought for a bit until she had the right comeback. "That's hot."

"Aquinas?" she asked him.

He retorted: "Beware the man of a single book." He looked into her eyes. And he never wanted to look at anyone else again, ever.

She couldn't help but blush.

"I'd really wish you could see my collection."

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"My books. I have hundreds of books at my place."

"Well, I'd love to have a look at your collection," she admitted. She really wanted to see what interests him. _What kind of works did he like reading?_ She wondered what his place looked like.

"Really?" Henry was surprised and thrilled at the same time.

"Yeah, I really would. But probably not today."

"No, of course not, not today. It's only our first date and I wouldn't want you to think I'd invited you to come over to my place to… ." He didn't dare to finish his sentence.

She finished it for him: "… to look at your collection."

He smiled. She smiled.

"No, I'm mean, it's getting rather late and I have an early class tomorrow."

 _She wanted to go._ "Yeah, we should probably get you back to your dorm," he said it with a hint of disappointment in his voice as he got up and was about to get their coats.

"Henry," he turned around as she said his name. "I had a really great time tonight, thank you."

He smiled wide at her words.

"Anytime."

The ride back to her dorm was peaceful. They didn't say much but they enjoyed each other's company. Both were deep in thoughts and it seemed as they were both thinking the same things. How easy they had relished in each other's company. No words were needed to make them feel at ease and at home. Henry turned the radio a bit louder as Show me the way, an old Peter Frampton song came on.

Henry started to sing along quietly which made Elizabeth laugh.

"You're free to sing along if you want to," he challenged her.

"Oh, yeah, euhm, like the song, I really do. But, besides cooking, I also don't sing."

"No balls involved, ey?"

It made her laugh out loud.

As they reached the parking lot in front of her apartment, Henry turned off the engine and turned to look at her.

"I really had a great time, Elizabeth."

"Me too," she couldn't hide her smile from him as she looked down.

"Is it okay if I call you some time?"

"Yeah, oh course, euhm, sure. Do you have a pen?"

He looked around frantically. No, he didn't have a pen. _Crap_.

Elizabeth searched her purse and found no pen but she figured a lipstick would do.

She took the lid off and started writing her number on the window where she was sitting in the car. "It's 312 762 5829."

She closed her lipstick.

"Got it?"

"Got it!"

"Goodnight, Henry," she softly spoke as she opened the door. She quickly got out and closed the door.

While she walked to the entrance of her building, she waved and he, of course, waved back.

"Good night," he whispered.


	4. Chapter 4

First call

 _3_ _rd_ _December 1986_

It was a little after midnight and Elizabeth and Becky were sitting cross-legged on Becky's bed. Becky was listening intently to Elizabeth. The latter was over the moon with how her date had gone and was spilling the beans. She had to. From the moment she had walked in, Becky had bombed her with questions.

Becky was nodding and smiling as Elizabeth continued and told her roommate about Henry and his family, about his love for Aquinas. His book collection and the fact that he'd invited her to come check it out one day.

"Okay, that's very nice and all but come on, Lizzy. Did you guys kiss?"

Elizabeth's smile slowly vanished from her face and her head dropped just a little. "No, we didn't."

"Why not?"

She sighed. "Well, I don't know. We just never got to the kissing part. We had such a wonderful time just talking and it was enough."

"Come on, that guy is gorgeous. He can have any girl on the planet."

"He's not aware of how incredible handsome he looks, I guess. When our waitress was checking him out, he didn't even notice. He was oblivious to anyone."

"Not to you."

"No, not to me. Maybe he just wasn't ready to kiss me. Maybe I wasn't ready either. I don't know. Who even says you should kiss on a first date. It's not like there's a rule."

Becky sighed. "No, there's no rule. I'm just surprised he didn't try anything. Let's hope you get another chance."

"He said he'd call."

Becky sighed again. Thinking maybe it was best that they hadn't kissed. He'd call, yeah sure. "He's probably one of those guys who never calls back after not having kissed on the first date."

"Maybe, I don't know, maybe I just should have stayed in the car a bit longer. I don't know. After I gave him my number I just left. Whatever, we'll see."

"You left?"

"Yeah, I didn't want things to be all awkward and the nervousness of a first kiss is …," she sighed not knowing how to continue her thought. "The entire evening I felt at ease and I felt really comfortable. I just didn't want to change any of that by staying seated and wait for him to kiss me."

"Lizzy, there's always going to be some sort of uneasiness before a first kiss. I figured, since he'd seen you in your bra already, you guys would have got to second base," Becky winked as she said that. Elizabeth, however, did not notice and stayed in her own bubble.

"I have the feeling Henry's not that kind of guy. He's really sweet and he respects me."

"Come on, he must have touched you at least. You held hands at some point, right?"

"No, we didn't. We just bowled, ate, and talked."

Becky let herself fall down onto her bed, her hands landing on her forehead. "If this is going to be purely platonic, I'll die. He's so fucking hot, Lizzy. As are you. Any other guy would have smothered you with kisses after having seen you half naked like that."

"Right, but I don't want to be with any other guy. I want someone who can make me laugh and someone who I can talk with. About anything."

"Maybe he's gay," Becky mused.

Just then, the phone on the nightstand rang. Becky who was sitting closest answered it. As Elizabeth started to get up to get ready for bed, Becky reached out for her. She grabbed Elizabeth's wrist. She turned around seeing Becky all flabbergasted with her mouth wide open. "Yeah, I'll put her on."

"HENRY," Becky mouthed totally excited.

"Oh." Immediately Elizabeth started blushing. She slowly took the phone from Becky and silently greeted her date with a simple 'hello'.

Becky who had moved to the edge of her bed was looking at Elizabeth expectantly. Her patience was about to be put to the test. It would take at least half an hour before Elizabeth could tell her why Henry had called.

"Hi," Henry said in a soft voice.

"Hi," Elizabeth greeted him for a second time.

"Were you already asleep? Did I wake you?" Henry asked, afraid he might have woken her.

She grinned. "No, no, I wasn't. I haven't had the chance. Becky's been interrogating me about my evening ever since I got back."

"Oh. So, I, euhm, well, I said I'd call you some time and well, yeah, that some time is now."

"I can hear that."

"I just wanted to let you know I had a really good time and I had the feeling I didn't get to tell you that in the car," Henry spoke, his voice still soft.

"You did tell me," Elizabeth answered.

"Oh, well then that's …," he was interrupted by the voice on the other end of the line.

"I had fun too, you know? It was a great first date."

"So, it was a date after all then." Elizabeth could hear the smile in his voice as he spoke.

"Yeah, sure, I consider it a date."

Henry went for it: "Well, how about you tell me when I can take you out on another date?"

"Oh, I'd have to check. Hold on." Elizabeth moved away from the bed to the large calendar that was hanging on the wall next to her desk.

"If you don't have time or if you don't want to, then…," Henry sounded less sure of himself all of a sudden.

"Are you free on Friday?" Elizabeth asked surprising him.

"This Friday? As in the day after tomorrow?" Henry couldn't hide his excitement anymore.

"Yeah, this Friday. The day after tomorrow." She smiled, not being able to feel exactly the same way as Henry.

"This Friday sounds great. Got any ideas?"

"Well, I'd go for burgers and bowling anytime," she wasn't sure but she added it to the end of her sentence anyway, "with you."

His heart skipped. "Let's just try something different than bowling this time. I'm still getting over the fact that you've destroyed me."

She let out a tiny snort before apologizing. "Yeah, sorry about that. Surprise me, then."

"Okay. 6.30 again?" Henry asked.

"If by 6.30 you mean 6.15, then I'll be ready."

It was Henry's turn to complete his signature laugh now.

"6.30 it is," he said.

"Okay, so I'll see you on Friday, the day after tomorrow."

"I can't wait," he sounded really truthful.

She responded with just as much honesty: "Me neither."

It was silent for just a couple of seconds.

"Elizabeth…" Henry started again.

"Yeah?"

"Was it wrong of me not to kiss you goodbye?"

She didn't know what to say. Honestly, she really didn't.

"I wanted to, I just didn't know if you wanted to be kissed. And I've been thinking about whether or not I should have before you left my car. I mean, I stayed in my car until you were out of sight and then some. Wondering if I should have, you know, kissed you. Not necessarily kiss kiss, but a simple kiss on the cheek maybe as a way of saying goodbye. I hope you didn't have the impression I don't think you're great. Because I do think you're great. You're…"

"Henry, you ramble when you're nervous and overthinking things," she cut his words short.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's really cute." She continued. "And I think you should do whatever makes you comfortable."

"So you wouldn't have minded if I had kissed you?"

She thought about it for a bit. "I don't think so. I don't really know actually. You made me feel very at ease. I don't think I would have minded a kiss on the cheek. Maybe I felt so at ease because you didn't kiss me. There was nothing nervous or awkward about our date and I liked that. But maybe I should have stayed in the car a bit longer so you wouldn't have to wonder about it all now."

"I wish I had kissed you, then."

"Yeah."

"On the cheek," he was being awfully cute.

"On the cheek," she repeated his words.

"We'll always have Friday."

"The day after tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Elizabeth."

"Goodnight, Henry."

He waited a couple of seconds before he decided to put the phone down. He was content.


	5. Chapter 5

First touches

 _4_ _th_ _December 1986_

After he had called her shortly after midnight on Wednesday - technically it was already Thursday - he could not fall asleep. He was far too excited for his next date with her. And she had agreed to go out with him again. He had wanted to call her again yesterday and this morning. He'd wanted to call her again ever since he'd put the phone down. Her voice was like a drug. Her hushed voice, laced with tiredness but cheery nonetheless. Her tiny snorts if he was being funny. Her silent smiles that he couldn't see nor hear but nevertheless knew were present on her beautiful face whenever he told her something sweet. He replayed their telephone conversation over and over again in his head. She'd had a great time. She'd referred to it as a date. An official first date. She'd felt at ease. With him. She'd bowl and eat hamburgers with him anytime. Any time. With him. She'd wanted him to kiss her goodbye. She'd wanted him to kiss her. She'd wanted to be kissed. That's what she had said. And Henry could not think of anything else but Elizabeth.

Far too excited for their second date, he could not concentrate on his work. He should have been studying. Instead, he focussed on how he could top their previous date. He had found out she liked the simple things in life; nothing too fancy. She had told him to surprise her and his mind had kept racing all day. He was determined to make her happy. Make her smile. Make her comfortable. Make her his.

Elizabeth had been looking forward to their second date with a healthy amount of nervousness coursing through her. She'd done some reading yesterday and today she had studied for an upcoming midterm later next week. She was always well prepared and she wasn't going to let Henry interfere with her deadlines. The more she glanced at her watch, the more nervous she got and at five she decided to start getting ready. After all, she didn't want a similar situation as the one that had occurred on their first date, before it had even begun.

She took a long hot shower; let her hair dry without blow-drying it and got dressed. She opted for a comfy black turtleneck sweater that reached to below her thighs. Underneath, she wore black leggings. She put on some thick grey socks and wore her grey Dr Martens. At 6, she was done with her make up and she was completely dressed, shoes and all. She was ready to open the door whenever Henry would knock. She checked her complexion in the full-length mirror that hung at the back of the bathroom door and thought she had done a pretty good job. Becky was out so she couldn't give her any last minute advice. With some fifteen minutes or so to spare, she started reading the next part of her Philosophy course. She had got to a quote by Aristotle when her mind started drifting; 'The more you know, the more you know you don't know'. Her mind wandered to Henry. She had found out more about him on their first date. She had found out how he felt about her when he'd called her in the middle of the night; thinking of her when he in fact should be sleeping. But there were a lot of things she didn't know. What were his intentions? Was he looking for an easy lay? Was he looking for a long-term sort of thing? Did he just want to have fun? Did he want to become friends?

Her wondering mind was put to rest when there was a knock on the door. She got up from her bed and while she made her way over to open the door, she checked her appearance once more. She unlocked the door and opened it all the way. "I'm all dressed and ready to go," she had a broad smile and genuinely seemed happy.

"I can see that."

Henry took a small step inside her dorm and looked her over. He was struck by her elegance and beauty. He slowly manoeuvred closer to her. She leaned back slightly and looked at him. Not sure what he was planning to do. They locked eyes for a brief moment and then Henry moved his head forward and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. He lingered there for a moment and whispered in her ear.

"Hi."

"Hey," she replied as she withdrew from him.

"I've been wanting to do this since forever. The day before yesterday seems like forever ago." He really meant it. "You look gorgeous," he meant that too.

"Thanks," she blushed. "Shall we?"

He nodded eagerly.

She grabbed her scarf and her grey coat and pulled the door closed behind them. Both so very ready to start date number two.

Henry had started the car and headed out of the parking lot in front of Elizabeth's dorm.

"So, how have you been?" Henry asked.

"Good, I've done some studying. I have a big midterm coming up next week. Philosophy. But I still have a couple more days to prep. What about you?"

"I've tried to get some work done, but, honestly, I couldn't really think of anything else but you."

Elizabeth had to blush again.

"I'll study tomorrow," he said.

"So, no date then tomorrow?" Elizabeth joked.

Henry didn't know what to say. His foot abandoned the gas pedal for a brief moment and he turned to look at her. His longing eyes told her everything she needed to know. Everything she didn't know before and everything she wanted to know.

She snorted. "I'm kidding," she said. "I need to study too."

"Maybe we can study together. Tomorrow," he suggested out of the blue.

"We haven't started our second date yet and already you want to arrange a third date," she smiled as she said it.

"Well, I already know I will want to see you and talk to you tomorrow. So, yeah."

"Let's just wait and see what you have planned for us this time," she said hoping he would tell her where they were going.

"Well, no need to tell me because we're here." He drove half a mile more and then pulled up in a parking lot. She hadn't been here before and looked around to see wherever he could be taking her.

"What are we going to do here? There's nothing to see or do here." She sounded a bit worried.

He turned off the engine and put his hand on hers and squeezed it. "Don't worry. I'm taking you to dinner but there's no parking space in front of the restaurant. We just have to cross a small part of this park. Trust me." His hand was still on hers and she knew she trusted him completely.

"Okay, let's go. I'm starving."

Henry chuckled. Of course she was.

They shut their doors and Henry walked to the passenger side of the car. He put his hand on the small of Elizabeth's back and guided her in the right direction.

"Do you like Chinese?" he asked her.

"Chinese is my favourite," she seemed to glow in the dark as she admitted she loved Chinese.

They walked alongside. The park was dimly lit but she felt safe with Henry walking so close next to her. Their shoulders and upper arms were softly touching as they stepped in sync towards their destination. The cold went unnoticed by the both of them. They followed the path to the right and out of the blue, the small Chinese restaurant appeared.

They were seated opposite each other by the floor-to-ceiling-window. They had a view of a small lake that was partly frozen. The lanterns illuminated the park and it was definitely much more romantic than the burger place they went to the other day.

"This place is nice," she admitted while glancing at him and catching him staring at her.

The spell broke as they were each handed a menu and opened it to see what this place had to offer. "Would you like some wine?" Henry asked.

"Sure. Red?"

"Red!"

They looked at each other and smiled shyly.

"This all seems so great. I don't know what to pick." Elizabeth admitted.

"The pecan chicken is supposed to be awesome here. I'll go with that one." Henry said.

The waitress came and looked at Henry. He gestured towards Elizabeth, telling the waitress politely they should always start with the female customers. The waitress looked at Elizabeth, in a very different way than she looked at Henry.

"I'll have the kung-pao-chicken, please."

After a short nod, the waitress immediately turned back towards Henry. Her features changing immediately as she looked him over.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

"I'll have the pecan chicken. Could we also get some spring rolls for starters and a carafe of red wine, please." Henry looked at Elizabeth to see if she wanted anything else.

She smiled and nodded, happy with his order, especially the spring rolls.

"Would you like rice or noodles with your chicken?" the waitress asked, never looking at Elizabeth although the question was aimed at the both of them.

"Noodles," they said simultaneously and smiled. With that the waitress left.

"Do you have any idea of the effect you have on waitresses?" Elizabeth asked while leaning in closer.

Henry looked back at the waitress. His mouth was opened slightly; not knowing how to answer Elizabeth's question.

"Wednesday, the waitress was totally checking you out. You didn't seem to notice at all. And this one, well, let's just say she'd rather have been sitting where I'm sitting now."

"Well, I don't want to be here with anyone else but you," he admitted.

Again, she had to blush. Of course she had to blush when he was being this sweet.

"Don't be shy. It's true. I like you, Elizabeth. A lot. And I really want to get to know you better."

The blush still apparent on her cheeks, she obliged him to continue. "Okay, shoot, what do you want to know?"

"Everything!"

"Well, it's kinda difficult to do that all in the timespan of a date."

"We have time, there's no rush." He thought for a moment. "What's your most treasured memory?"

She swallowed. That's a hard one. She swallowed thickly again. "Euhm, the memory I have of my family. The little things really. Waking up in the morning. Being hugged by both my parents as I came down the stairs, still sleepy. Watching my mom and dad interact as they made breakfast for Will and me. Coming home from school. My dad was teaching me…"

She stopped as the waitress arrived with their wine and appetizer spring rolls. Elizabeth immediately took one and continued her story. Henry in the meantime poured them both a glass of the red fluid.

"My dad was teaching me more about math than I should probably have known at that age while my mom helped Will with his homework. Seeing my mom and dad on the couch cuddling as I went to bid them goodnight. Riding the horses during the weekends. Leaving early in the morning, a picnic basket on my dad's saddle, a blanket on my mom's and the four of us not returning until dusk."

Henry was listening to every word she said and although she sounded chipper, he could hear the sadness as she spoke of her family. The family he now knew she missed terribly.

He took his glass.

"It sounds like you had a fantastic childhood with a loving family." Henry's voice was soft. He wanted to hold her and take her pain away. But it was too early for that.

"I did." She sighed.

"I think they did a wonderful job raising you, Elizabeth."

"I'm grateful for that. My parents always let Will and me feel special. Really special. Like we were the center of our parents' universe. They would always put Will and me before anything or anyone else."

"Let's toast to being special," Henry brought his glass to hers. They looked into each other's eyes as their glasses touched each other.

They both took a sip. Elizabeth put her glass down first and inhaled before she spoke again.

"I hate myself for not doing the same thing for my parents."

"How so?" Henry wanted to know and he put his glass down as well.

"I loved my parents very much and I admired them individually and even more so when they were together. Family first, that's what they taught us. The day of the accident, they asked me if I wanted to join them and Will to go and get a milkshake. And, I,…" she closed her eyes for a second and sighed. "I just wanted to study for my math test. I let my parents and Will go, as a family. It seemed like I didn't want to be part of it. I have regretted that decision ever since because I never got them back. My family."

By the time she'd spoken those final words, Henry had both his hands wrapped around hers in the middle of their table. His thumb was soothingly stroking the knuckles of her right hand.

"I can't imagine what you've gone through, Elizabeth. I'm sorry. Being without your family must be so difficult for you."

"It is, but the shrinks and therapists have done their work. And time does heal wounds. Will and I have had our troubles and we've been through hell. But we're fairly happy with where we are now and we treasure the memories that we have."

Her hands were still locked in his. Unfortunately, their food arrived and they had to separate so the waitress could put it on the table.

"This smells so great." Elizabeth inhaled the odour of her food.

"Mine looks great too."

"It does," Elizabeth agreed.

They dug in. "Oh my god. This is so good. Henry, you've got to taste this." She topped her fork with some chicken and a piece of pepper and held it out for him to taste.

"Wow, that is great. Would you like a bite of mine too?"

She nodded eagerly and he pointed a forkful of his pecan chicken towards her.

Her lips enclosed his fork and she pulled the chicken into her mouth. The intimacy of sharing food like that sent a wave of warmth through Henry's body. As she was chewing, she moaned. "This is heavenly."

Henry thought the food was great, but his heaven was sitting right in front of him.

She put her fork down to take another sip of the wine.

"Tell me something about you," Elizabeth ordered Henry.

"Where shall I begin?"

"What does your ideal future look like?"

He smirked. "That's easy." He took another sip before continuing. "I want to be a fighter pilot."

Elizabeth's mouth dropped open. She searched for his eyes. "But you study ethics and religion?"

"Yeah, but I'm taking the ROTC program and I will probably be deployed once I graduate." He spoke so enthusiastically about this that Elizabeth had to swallow. She felt the still rather large piece of chicken slide down her throat. She felt uncomfortable for the very first time.

"You want to go to war?" Her voice was barely audible.

"Not war per se, I will probably just do training flights and of course, if war were to break out, I don't want to voluntarily kill people, but I believe in the greater good and that some sacrifices need to be made in order to make this world a better place. I'm willing to fight for our country's worthy cause."

"Well, that's patriotic."

"I am convinced that the person leading our country is doing his absolute best to keep us safe. If that safety is in jeopardy, something needs to be done."

"Aren't you scared?"

"When fear is excessive, it can make many a man despair. That's Aquinas."

She smirked. But the joy and ease had escaped from her features. "What does your family say about this?" Elizabeth wanted to know.

"My dad is proud about me finally stepping up and being a man instead of studying religion. My mom is not a fan. But it's what I believe in and I believe some things have to be done."

Henry noticed the shift in Elizabeth's demeanour and that she was picking her food. "Hey, it's not like I'm leaving next week. Don't worry about something that is still a long way off. My ideal future has also many other facets."

Her smile was genuine now. And she slowly started eating again.

"Once I get back from my deployment, I want to start my life. I want to be happy with the woman I love. I want to give her anything, I would do anything to make her happy and make her feel loved. I want to start a family some day, a big one. I want kids, preferably at least one girl and one boy. And that perfect family wouldn't be complete without a dog." He smiled and as he spoke, he looked her over trying to read her mind.

"Wow, that's precise." She swallowed. "You've already put a lot of thinking into this. Do you have names already?"

"For the dog, I was thinking Max."

She sat back against her chair. Surprised he had already figured this out.

"For the kids, Henry Jr. for a boy of course. And for the girl something royal because I will treat my daughter like a princess."

She gasped. Unbelievable.

He was smiling foolishly. "I'm kidding. Elizabeth, I'm kidding. I just want to be happy, start a life with someone I adore, and if kids are in the future, then I definitely would want kids. But I don't have names yet. Now eat your chicken."

After Henry's joke, the mood had lightened. Elizabeth seemed to relax again and she had finished her entire meal. She'd taken her time this time, not wanting to gross Henry out by stuffing herself in record time. It was only 8 pm when Henry asked for the check. Elizabeth insisted to pay for her part of the meal but Henry would hear none of it. "Ready for the next part of our date?" he asked.

"It depends on what you have planned," she honestly said.

"A look into my future," he ignited her curiosity.

They took the same route through the park; it was darker now and noticeably colder. Elizabeth shivered as the cold hit her. Henry put his arm around her and rubbed her arm. When they reached Henry's car, he opened the door on the passenger's side for her and quickly entered the car himself, turning the engine on and turning up the heat.

Before they arrived at their next destination, Henry had asked her: "Romantic – humorous – exciting – adventurous – tense?"

"Do you want me to put them in a certain order or do I just have to pick one?" she asked him.

"Choose three and just order them randomly."

She thought for a bit.

"Exciting, humorous and romantic."

They arrived at the movies; the movie wouldn't start for half an hour. Elizabeth said she needed to use the ladies, so Henry went to wait in line to buy two tickets for them.

When he came back with the tickets, Elizabeth was waiting for him holding a huge bowl of popcorn.

"Still hungry?" Henry asked as he grabbed some popcorn from the bowl.

She gave him an angry look. "Do you want me to buy a bowl for you as well?"

Henry's face fell. And there it was, her snort. She laughed loudly. "Just kidding, as much as I like popcorn, and I like it a lot, this bowl is for us."

He gave her a sweet smile.

"So, what are we watching?" she asked as they made their way to the right theater.

"Top gun, baby. Top gun. Have you already seen it?"

She shook her head. "Well, it's supposed to be exciting, incredibly romantic and humorous." She looked at him and smiled widely.

They took their seats near the back of the theatre. Henry had already taken out his coat and put on the seat next to him. He took the bowl of popcorn so Elizabeth could take off her coat as well and put the bowl in between his legs. She leaned over him and put her coat with his. She got comfortable and relaxed as she dug into the bowl of popcorn and popped the pieces in her mouth bit by bit.

He looked at her and smiled.

She felt his gaze on her and turned to look at him. "What?" she asked as she grabbed another portion of popcorn.

"You're beautiful," he admitted.

"You're cheesy," she teased.

"Have you made a decision about our upcoming study date yet?" Even though she was sitting right next to him, Henry already knew he wanted to see her again, soon.

"Not yet," she said but she was sure that by the end of the evening her answer would be yes.

The movie was about to start. Both went in for another grab of popcorn and their hands touched. It lasted for only a brief moment before she withdrew her hand. She had felt the electricity coursing through her body and wondered if he reacted to her touch the same way. "You go first," she said.

Henry grabbed a handful of popcorn and put it in her hand before he went in for a handful for himself.

She smiled and then turned her attention towards the large screen. The lights fading and the music starting indicated the movie was about to start.

She found the bucket of popcorn blindly and had to dig deeper and deeper in order to retrieve popcorn.

After about half an hour, she had finished the entire bowl and Henry put it down on the floor. Her arm was resting in between them and Henry put his hand on top of hers. She looked at their hands and then turned to him. She smiled.

Henry smiled back.

He could feel her tensing during the flying scenes; especially the one where Goose got in trouble. He entwined their fingers and squeezed her hand reassuring her everything would be all right.

Maybe he'd better chosen a different movie. Goose dying was not the most reassuring part, knowing he'd probably in the same kind of situation one day.

He started rubbing small circles on the inside of her palm. Her hands were so soft. He liked being this close to her and feeling comfortable.

Their hands stayed locked throughout the entire movie. She shivered as the final scene played on the screen. They waited until the credits were finished and the lights were turned back on. He pulled her hands towards his mouth and put a kiss to the back of her hand.

"Did you like it?" he asked.

She nodded. "I can see now why you want to become a fighter pilot."

"Oh yeah?" encouraging her to elaborate.

"Yeah, you just want to get the hot girl."

"She's already sitting next to me," he smiled.

"So cheesy," she snorted again.

"Let's go," he didn't let go of her hand so he could pull her up form her seat.

When they got back in the car, Henry was the first one to speak. "I don't know about you but I would really like to have that study date with you tomorrow."

"I'd like that," she said simply.

"Really?"

"Yeah, really."

The ride from the movies to Elizabeth's dorm was not long. And so time was running out.

"How does 2 suit you?"

"2 is fine. Let's meet at the library," she suggested. "I need to do some extra research on a couple of matters."

"2 it is. I'll be waiting."

"You'll probably be there at 1.45 already." She laughed out loud. "Where in the library shall we meet? It's a big place and it tends to be crowded on Saturdays."

"Aquinas."

"Yeah, that seems fitting. Aquinas."

Henry pulled up and asked her if he could walk her to her dorm.

"That's not necessary." He was a bit disappointed. "It's really cold out, no need to both get our ears frozen off," she explained why he should remain in the car.

She turned towards him. "Thank you for dinner, Henry. And the movies."

She leaned in closer.

He waited. "Thank you for the popcorn."

She came even closer now. Was she taking the lead? He was awestruck.

"Euhm, and thank you for your wonderful company."

He leaned in too now. Just as he thought she was going to kiss him, she pressed her soft lips to the left corner of his mouth. She got a taste of his cheek and lips and smiled. He wanted to touch the place where her lips had just been but he was unable to move or pronounce another word.

She put her hand above his knee and patted it. "See you tomorrow, Henry. Night"

And with that she was gone.


	6. Chapter 6

First kiss

 _5_ _th_ _December 1986_

"Hi, Lizzy. Wanna go to the mall this afternoon? I really need a dress for New Year's." Becky asked her roommate as she walked into their shared dorm room.

"Hey, I'm sorry, Becky, I can't. I'm going to the library at 2."

"Why don't you go now? It's only 12, so you can come with me to the mall later on?"

"Euh, I'm going to the library to study."

"You've been studying all morning. I'm sure you don't need to study any more to pass your midterm next week. Besides, it's the weekend."

"Becky, I can't, … I, euh,…" Elizabeth hesitated. It looked as if she were searching her desk for possible excuses not to go to the mall with her friend.

"Wait a minute. This isn't about your midterm is it? Elizabeth Adams, are you going to the library to see Handsome Henry?" Becky smiled excitedly.

Elizabeth sighed. "Yes," she exhaled.

"Why didn't you just tell me? I'd go to the library too if I were you. I'll just ask Chris to join me.

Elizabeth smiled and was relieved.

Why didn't you tell me when you came home last night?" Becky was back to interrogation mode.

"Because, I don't want to sound all too excited and crazy about Henry. I just don't want to seem too involved just in case things don't turn out the way I want them to."

"Lizzy, you're crazy."

She bowed her head. Worry written across her face.

"Why wouldn't things turn out the way you want them to?"

"I don't know. Maybe, maybe I'm just being foolish, I don't want to get too invested," she was tapping her desk while saying those words to keep herself occupied.

"Tell me. What's going on."

"Well, yesterday, I was convinced he was going to kiss me. I mean, he told me over the phone he had wanted to kiss me on our first date. And I really thought he would, but when our date neared its ending yesterday, he seemed frozen, like, like he couldn't do it. Maybe he's having second thoughts."

"Lizzy, I think you're overthinking things. I thought you said you guys kissed."

" _I_ kissed _him_ , yes," she spoke loudly now, "but it wasn't even a kiss kiss. You know, I figured that if I kissed him, if I started it, he would take the lead and kiss me back, but he didn't."

Becky sighed. "I'm sure you're way overthinking everything."

"Maybe," her voice was just a whisper now.

"Is he picking you up later?"

"No, we're meeting in the library at two."

"What are you going to wear?" Elizabeth looked down at her attire. She pointed towards her washed off jeans and the hoodie she was wearing.

"Okay, if he kisses you wearing that, you guys will definitely get married." Becky joked as she went across the hall to ask if Christine would join her.

"We're going to the library for Pete's sake. You can't kiss in the library." Elizabeth shouted but Becky had already left.

"Can you?" she wondered to herself.

She was carrying her books and a notepad with her as she walked inside the library at 1.55 figuring Henry would already be there. He was always early. And she liked that. She was always punctual and he was early. She crossed the long and wide entrance hall to the staircase, which was in the back. She climbed up to the second floor and went to the Philosopher's corner. She scanned the area he was supposed to be in but she couldn't see him anywhere. She checked the cupboards and found Aquinas's works rather quickly. She turned around to see if he was anywhere near but nothing.

She waited and checked her watch regularly. She'd gone over all of the titles in the rack. She'd chosen a book she thought would be interesting. She sat down in a chair that was near the Aquinas section and decided to get started. She'd wait until he arrived. It was a little after two when she suddenly heard footsteps, she turned around to face the noise but her face fell when she saw it was not Henry. It was some other guy who needed to read something from Aquinas.

"Damn it," the guy muttered to himself.

Elizabeth looked up at him. "Can't find what you're looking for?"

"No, I'm looking for Aquinas's _Treatise on Law_. It should be here. I've asked the librarian but it's not here."

"Oh," Elizabeth started, "I took it. I'm sorry." She closed the book. "Here, you can have it."

"You sure you don't want to read it?"

"No, I just took it because it seemed interesting. I don't really need it. I'm waiting for someone actually but he's late and I just thought it'd help me pass the time."

"Oh, okay, well, thanks. I'm Tom by the way."

"Hi, Tom. I'm Elizabeth."

"Nice to meet you, Elizabeth. So, are you a student here at UVA?"

"Yes, I am. Math."

He was impressed. "Law," Tom said.

"Hence Aquinas's work." Elizabeth pointed towards the book that was now in someone else's hands.

"Yeah. Let's just hope I find it as interesting as you," he spoke. "I mean, as you found it interesting. Don't think that I'm interested in you," he looked up, "no, that's also wrong. You seem like a nice person, Elizabeth. And a smart one at that too, being interested in _Treatise on Law_ and all. And I assume you're waiting here for someone special so I certainly don't want to be too forward. Excuse me, I'm rambling." He smiled.

Elizabeth chuckled. "Don't worry about it."

"I should get going," Tom said. He extended his hand and she took it. "It was really nice to meet you, Elizabeth. Maybe, I'll see you around sometimes."

"Likewise." As they were shaking hands, she could hear someone running on the wooden staircase. She looked towards the sound and saw him. He came running towards her; his study book in his right hand.

"Guess he's here," Tom spoke. "I'll leave you to it. Bye."

"Yeah, bye."

Henry had stopped in his tracks when he saw her talking to another guy. The guy nodded as he passed Henry. Henry acknowledged him and returned the polite gesture.

He started a faster pace again until he reached her. "Elizabeth, I'm so sorry I'm late." He was out of breath as he said it.

"It's ok...," she started but he inhaled sharply and interrupted her: "My mother called just as I was about to leave my apartment telling me my sister Maureen's pregnant and she just wouldn't put down the phone. I'm so sorry."

"Henry, it's okay. Don't worry about it."

"No, it's not. I'm 20 minutes late. I'm never late. I was afraid you might have left already. I came as soon as I could."

"Relax, Henry." She put her hand on his upper arm. "It's no big deal. Really."

He exhaled and her hand on his arm seemed to relax him.

"Thank you. I'm glad you're still here." He gave her the sweetest smile.

"Shall we go to the study hall?" he asked.

"I still need to look for some books; I haven't done that yet. I was talking to this guy, Tom. I guess I could've done that while I was waiting but I was afraid you wouldn't find me if I left here."

"It's fine, let's go find the books you need first." Henry put his hand on her lower back and gestured for her to take the lead in search of the books she needed.

Henry followed her around while she was browsing the numerous shelves filled with thousands of books. There was something so sexy about her being concentrated on finding the right works. He stood behind her while she was browsing through a book she thought might come in handy for her midterm. He inhaled her scent and was intoxicated by her perfume. He was drawn closer and closer to her. He was inches away from resting his chin on her shoulder. She turned to look at him and saw his puppy eyes. She smiled. "Okay, I've tested your patience long enough. I think I've got all the books I need. I'm good to go," she spoke.

"Elizabeth," he whispered as she turned around, her collection of books pressed against her chest where she kept them with her arms crossed.

She was trapped between the shelf she had just been looking at and him. He moved closer to her if that was even possible and put his book on the rack behind her. "Henry," it was her turn to whisper now. She looked at him. Her eyes were drawn to his lips.

"Elizabeth, I want to kiss you." He inched his face closer to hers. He put his hands on her shoulders and let them slide slowly down her arms that were still crossed in front of her chest. He took the books she was holding in front of her and put them on the rack with his. Having done that he turned all of his attention towards her again. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and brought his mouth inches from hers.

He pressed a soft kiss similar to the one she had given him last night to the corner of her mouth. He stayed there for a while. He was so sweet. Too sweet. He opened his eyes to see how she reacted to his kiss. He found her with her eyes closed and he still found her so beautiful. When he pulled away, she opened her eyes to find that his face was back in front of hers. He came closer. His mouth was slightly opened when he was about to lock lips with her, finally. As they came together, he heard her say: "Henry," barely audible but he heard, "kiss me."

It was nanoseconds before he closed the final gap between them. He pressed his body closer against hers and the bookshelf behind her seemed to rattle when their tongues found each other for the very first time. They seemed to be lifting each other upwards; she slid her hands up his chest before her arms rested on his shoulders to lock his head in place. Henry's hands slid down her shoulders to her lower back where he locked them and pulled her up just a little bit.

It seemed as if they had been flying when they pulled apart. He rested his forehead against hers. "I'm sorry, I should have done this yesterday," he spoke a little out of breath.

"Yeah, you should have." She pecked his lips again. Softly. She tasted so good.

She turned around, grabbed her books from the rack and gave him his. She headed for the reading hall. "Come on, you need to study."

Henry followed her. Of course he followed her. From this moment onward, he promised himself he would follow her everywhere she went.

Elizabeth chose a quiet corner of the reading room where there were only two other students. She put her books down and looked at Henry who was watchin her.

"Come on, McCord."

He smiled and chose the chair next to hers. She sat down as well and put her legs over his. She opened her book and started reading.

Henry put his hand on her knee and smiled at her. Finally, he also opened his book and started studying.

She looked at him over her book and leaned in to whisper. "When you're finished studying, we can do the thing you wanted to do yesterday and the thing we did back there," she gestured her head towards the area they had first kissed, "again."

Henry had never heard a better incentive to study before.


	7. Chapter 7

Oh dear God, this turned into an 18-page Word document. Sorry if it's too long. I just kept going. Sorry if it's too fluffy or too corny or too soon for them to be having such conversations. I haven't had a date in ages and I don't know the drill anymore. Anyway, here we go. Enjoy and please leave reviews and / or suggestions.

* * *

First visit

 _7_ _th_ _December 1986_

Their study date in the library on Saturday went really, really well. Finally they had kissed. And Henry had taken the initiative this time. Well, every time they had kissed actually. Before they started studying together but also while each of them was reading their respective books and after. After, when Henry had walked her back to her dorm; he had snuck his hand in hers and locked his fingers with hers. When her building came into view he stopped and slightly pulled her to a halt as well. When she turned around he immediately brought their mouths together. Sweet at first; he was so gentle and careful. It got a bit more heated and passionate as their tongues sought and found each other. However, it ended rather sadly, sad for their date was about to end. Henry had promised his mom he would visit and he would leave on Saturday evening and come back early Monday morning.

"I'll miss you," he had said.

She had nodded. She wasn't quite sure if she would be missing him. She had enjoyed all three dates with Henry so far and she had not felt uncomfortable once. She thought he was handsome, strikingly so and she liked his company. She wondered if she would feel the same way as he did about her while he was in Pittsburgh. After one final soft kiss they had parted their ways. Elizabeth had waved one last time as she disappeared into her building. Henry had walked back to his own apartment before heading for Pittsburgh to see his family.

Henry had only been gone for a little more than a day. It was ridiculous. She'd seen him on Saturday but still; it felt like a really long time. Weekends were always kind of hard on Elizabeth. Some of her friends had gone home over the weekend. Others just partied themselves into oblivion while she had stayed indoors and had read most of Sunday. Now, Monday was here and Elizabeth had to admit that she had in fact missed Henry's company. It hit her as soon as her alarm went off at 7.30. At 8 am the phone rang. Becky, who had gotten in late yesterday, was enjoying sleeping in, as her classes didn't start until late on Monday afternoon. "What the fuck," first Elizabeth's alarm clock had interrupted her precious sleep, now the phone was blurting. She grabbed the horn off the hook and held it to her ear, not saying a word.

"Hello?" it was unmistakably Henry's voice.

"Lizzy," Becky yelled, her voice still drunk with sleep.

Elizabeth emerged from the bathroom with nothing but a towel around her. She saw Becky was holding up the phone, her eyes already closed again and from what Elizabeth could tell, she was back to snoring already. Elizabeth took the phone and answered silently:

"Hello?"

"Hi," she heard Henry reply.

"Hi, Henry. How was Pittsburgh?" she asked him all cheery.

"It was good; no, let me rephrase that, it was okay."

"Oh," Elizabeth didn't really know what to say to that. "When did you get back?"

"Just after midnight. I didn't know if you were already asleep, I didn't dare to call you that late. But listen, I've got my first class in about an hour,…" Henry started.

"Me too," Elizabeth said.

"… and then I'll be taking other classes non-stop till four with only a fifteen minute break."

"Poor thing!" Elizabeth exclaimed.

"I know, Mondays are the worst," Henry replied. "But, I was thinking, maybe you'd want to come over tonight and have dinner here? At my place?"

"At your place?" Elizabeth asked teasingly.

"Yeah, nothing too fancy, though. I'll probably just fix us some pasta."

"Pasta," Elizabeth just repeated.

"You do like pasta, right?" Henry was being nervous again.

"Of course I like pasta. Who doesn't like pasta?"

"Great!"

There was a short silence.

"I really look forward to seeing you, Elizabeth. I've missed you."

Contemplating his words and whether or not she should talk about how she felt, she took a breath. "What time shall I drop by for this pasta?"

"I'll be home for sure at around five. Whenever you're free, you're welcome to come early. If you want to." He added that last part.

"Okay, I'll see you tonight."

"Have a nice day Elizabeth. Can't wait till tonight."

"Bye." She put the phone down and exhaled. He'd missed her. He had got home late last night and had wanted to call her immediately. Now, the first thing he did today, was call her. Elizabeth was relieved because even though she didn't want to admit to him, she had missed him too. She just wasn't sure if she should tell him that. She didn't want to seem needy and clingy and god knows what else. She decided to get ready for her day. The sooner it started, the sooner she could get to Henry's.

* * *

It was a quarter to five when Henry finally made it home. He didn't really know what time Elizabeth would come. He decided to take a quick shower and put some more comfortable clothes on before she arrived at his place. At half past six, Henry decided he would start on the sauce. He peeled an onion, sliced up a couple of tomatoes, peppers and a zucchini. Once everything was on the stove, there was a knock on his door. He quickly grabbed a towel and made his way towards the door wiping off his hands.

His breath hitched when he saw her.

She smiled shyly at him. "Hi," she whispered.

She stepped inside and put her hands on his abdomen and kissed him softly on the cheek.

"Cat got your tongue?" she asked him as she started to take off her coat.

Henry looked her over. Her hair was loose and fell down in long waves. She had on a casual sweater which read 'Harvard Law – Just kidding' and a loose pair of jeans. "You look even more beautiful than I can remember."

"You're good," she replied and winked at him. She held the coat in her hands and stood there waiting until Henry would take it from her.

"So, where shall I put my coat?" she asked him when he was obviously too nervous to act normal.

"Oh, here, I'll take it and put it on the bed. Make yourself comfortable."

As Henry came back from the bedroom, Elizabeth was standing in front of his giant collection of books. "Have you read all of these?" she wondered out loud.

"Most of them, yeah," he said as he went to stand next to her.

"Wow," she was struck. "That's a lot of reading."

"Yeah, well, I had a lot more time on my hands," he laughed before suggesting they'd have a drink.

When Elizabeth had affirmatively nodded, Henry asked if she wanted some wine.

"Yeah, sure."

"Red?"

"Red."

Henry went to the kitchen and set out two wine glasses. When she heard the cork pop out of the bottle, she turned and went to him. He was standing on the other side of the counter pouring their wine.

"Your place is really nice, Henry. I like it."

"Thanks!" He felt proud of himself.

"Is it always this neat or have you cleared out all of your mess because of me?" she smirked.

"I would clean up because of you, but I'm actually a very neat guy. So, I haven't cleaned up."

"Wow, you must think my dorm is a pigsty."

"You have to share a much smaller space with Becky, so it's absolutely normal your place looks messier." He handed her a glass of wine.

"Thanks," she gladly accepted it as she eyed Henry. He looked at her intently. He brought his glass to hers and clinked it before taking a sip.

Elizabeth moaned as the liquid reached her taste buds.

"Are you already hungry?" Henry asked.

"I could always eat, but I'm perfectly fine with waiting if you're not hungry yet."

Henry smiled sweetly.

"Okay, I just have to finish the sauce and boil some water for the pasta. Would you mind putting on some music in the meantime?"

"Sure," she put her glass back on the counter and turned around. His record player was near the wall next to his couch. She sat down on the floor and crossed her legs while going through his vinyl collection. She put on something Jazzy with Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. She got up and saw Henry was still busy in the kitchen. She approached him as he was standing by the stove.

"This smells great," she acknowledged as she put her hands on his shoulders before halting next to him. He cast a look at her. "Anything I can do? Nothing too fancy though because I really can't cook."

"Open your mouth." Henry ordered.

Elizabeth looked at him and what he was doing. He took the wooden spoon from the pot and blew it.

"Careful, it's hot." He said as he offered her the spoon to taste the sauce.

Elizabeth's mouth circled the spoon and she lapsed up everything.

"Oh my God, Henry," she licked her lips. "That's so good."

"More flavouring?" he asked as he took a spoonful himself.

"I think it's pretty great," she said convincingly.

"Okay, then the sauce is done. You cook the pasta while I set the table."

He left Elizabeth dumbfounded.

"Euh, Henry," she was turning around looking and not finding the answers to what she should do. "Perhaps it's best if I set the table."

As Henry was taking the plates from the cupboard, he gave her instructions to help her: "There's a pot in the second drawer next to the stove."

Elizabeth did as she was told. Henry behind him and nodded. "Great, fill it halfway with water and put it on the stove. Just add a little bit of olive oil and wait till it starts to boil.

"I can do that," she started to do what Henry had just told her. "I think."

Of course she could do that. Henry looked at her from his tiny dining table and smiled. He loved having her over. He loved seeing her in his kitchen as if it were theirs.

"It's boiling," Elizabeth nearly shouted after staring at the boiling pot intently for several minutes.

"Okay, the pasta is in the top cupboard next to the fridge. Just take 250 grams, which is about half a pack of pasta and put it in the water."

She had to open one other cupboard but finally found the one with the pasta.

In the meantime, Henry had got out a small candle and lit it. The table was ready and he could go and see how Elizabeth was doing.

The pasta was in the pot. "You're doing great, babe," he said as he stood next to her and kissed her softly on the cheek.

"Babe?"

"Yeah, babe. You don't like it?"

"Ah, euhm, well, I… " she looked back into the pot with the pasta and cleared her throat "when do we know when the pasta is done?" Elizabeth asked.

Henry smiled at her nervousness after calling her babe. "The amount of minutes it should boil is on the package. Have you looked at the clock when you put it in?"

Elizabeth's face fell. She had screwed up, or at least that's what she thought. Of course, who was she kidding thinking she could do this.

Henry put his hands on her shoulders and let his thumbs caress her neck.

"Don't worry, I don't ever look at the package either." Henry let go of her and took out a fork and fished a strand of spaghetti from the pot. He threw it against the wall and it fell down onto the worktop. "When it sticks to the wall, your pasta is done. Just a bit longer."

She looked at him suspiciously as he turned towards the fridge. He pulled out a piece of pecorino and started grating the cheese into a tiny bowl. He set the grated pecorino on the table and saw how Elizabeth had thrown another strand against the wall. It fell down. She picked it up and ate it anyway.

Henry stood behind her and put his arms around her. He inhaled her scent and enjoyed being this close to her.

"How was your day?" he asked her.

"Just classes. Yours?"

"Me too; classes and thinking of you."

Elizabeth smiled shyly as she fished out another strand. She repeated the same action, threw it against the wall and this time it stuck to the wall. She shrieked.

"We're done," Henry said turning off the stove from behind her with his right hand as his left lowered to her left hip.

He let go of her and took out a colander. He poured the pasta in it and rinsed it with water. Elizabeth watched his every move and was impressed with how well he worked around the kitchen. And around her, she thought. How she loved being close to him. His hands on her neck, his arms around her, his hand on her hip; it had ignited something deep within her. Could she be falling for him?

She was brought back to reality as Henry was _babe_ -ing her again. "You coming?"

He was already at the table holding two plates of steaming pasta in front of him.

Elizabeth grabbed the two glasses of wine that had been left abandoned on the counter top and made her way to the table.

"Oh, Henry, this looks really good. Thank you."

"No need to thank me. I'm glad you're keeping me company."

Elizabeth smiled. "Don't you have many friends around here?"

"A couple, but they're all rather nerdy."

She had to laugh out loud now. "And you're not?" she was teasing him.

"Do you think I'm nerdy?" he was curious how she would answer that question.

"Not more nerdy than I am, I guess."

Henry smiled. "You're not a nerd."

"Then you're not a nerd either."

"To not being a nerd together," Henry raised his glass.

Elizabeth laughed out loud and clinked her glass with his. Her laughter was working infectious.

"The fact that we're toasting to not being nerds makes us such nerds," she admitted.

Henry was laughing too now.

"The emphasis was on _together_ ," he was flirting again and her cheeks turned a bit more rosy.

"So, the nickname. You haven't answered my question yet."

Elizabeth looked at him as she was twisting her spaghetti on her fork.

"Babe," Henry said. "Do you like it?"

Elizabeth swallowed hard. She put her fork in her mouth and started chewing. She held her hand up and ordered him to wait for her response.

When she was done, she put her fork down and rinsed her mouth with the red wine.

"Frankly, I'm not sure. I like the word 'babe'. I like it more than 'sweetheart,' or 'darling, or god forbid 'dear'."

Henry was nodding while chewing on some pasta himself.

"I just…," she was twisting her fork again. "I haven't been named anything other than Elizabeth or Lizzy since my parents died." She waited until she was emotionally ready to continue. "They used to call me 'honey' or 'sweety'." She fell silent again.

Henry swallowed his mouthful of spaghetti and looked down. Sad that he had made her feel sad.

Her hand reached out for his on the table. "It's not that I don't like the name. It's just that I would have to get used to hearing these terms of endearment again."

Henry put his other hand on top of hers. "Just tell me whenever I'm making you feel uncomfortable."

She smiled sweetly at him. "You could never. You haven't so far."

They looked at each other before both went back to eating their pasta.

"So, your parents, how was your visit this weekend? You didn't seem too happy about it on the phone this morning."

"I know. It's my dad, again. He's always making remarks about college and the fact that he thinks I'm wasting my time reading and studying while I could be making money with my hands."

"You know you're gonna prove him wrong one day, right?"

"I hope so." Henry sighed.

"I know so." Elizabeth smiled sweetly.

"How's your sister? How far along is she?"

"Just a bit over three months. She's doing great. She's not showing yet. But I think she's glowing."

Elizabeth's heart warmed at the way he spoke about his sister.

"Your mom must be so excited, her first grandchild."

"She is, she's already making plans and she's already arranging Maureen's baby shower. She couldn't be happier. She's constantly saying how she's going to spoil him or her. She's even had my dad grab our crib from the attic to paint it and put it downstairs for when they'd have to babysit. She just couldn't' stop talking about it."

"Feeling a bit jealous of your unborn niece or nephew already?" Elizabeth was just messing with him.

"Ha ha. Funny. No, my mom and I had lunch together on Sunday and I got my quality time with her." Henry winked. "It's funny though, when I told her about you, she couldn't talk about anything else but you. The baby seemed to have disappeared from her mind."

"You told her about me?" Elizabeth sat back, dumbfounded.

"Well, yeah." Henry sat back too afraid he'd made a mistake telling his mom about her. "I told her I'd met someone; someone so beautiful that I don't want to look at anyone else but her."

"Henry," Elizabeth exhaled.

"Was I not supposed to say anything?" he enquired.

"I don't know. We hardly know each other. We've only been on three dates. I guess it's all just going so fast, you calling me 'babe', me being here for dinner and what else knows what, you telling your mother about me."

Henry stared at her in disbelief. "Elizabeth, listen to me. I like what I know about you so far. I've had a wonderful time on each of our dates. I told my mom about you because you make me feel things I've never felt before. From the first time I saw you, leaving professor Matthews' office, I knew I wanted to be with you and I still feel that way."

Elizabeth looked down. She slowly stood up.

"Henry, I don't know if I feel the same way." She brought both her hands to her forehead. "I mean, I like you, I really do. I told you that I'm totally comfortable with you. And I must say that it was a really long weekend with you gone. Even though we didn't even know each other a week ago. It's crazy."

Henry lit up at her words. She had missed him.

Elizabeth continued in the meantime: "But it's difficult for me to let someone in. I've closed myself off from people for so long and you're tearing down all of my walls in one week. Heck, in three days. I just don't know if…"

"Hey," Henry had got up too. He was standing in front of her. "Hey," he lifted her chin up. "We'll do everything at your pace. And I have invited you here because I wanted to have dinner with you; nothing more, nothing less. I would never want to hurt you. I would never make you do anything you're not comfortable with."

She looked at him and he hugged her, standing in the middle of his apartment.

"Thank you," she murmured against his shoulder.

"For what?" He pulled away a bit to look at her.

"For making me feel the way you make me feel."

He hugged her again.

"More pasta?" He asked after a while as he put a soft kiss to her hair.

She nodded eagerly and gave him a sly smile. "Of course, more pasta."

He went to the kitchen to top up her plate while she took her seat again. She poured herself some more wine and did the same for Henry.

She took a large gulp.

As Henry set another full plate in front of her, he warned her: "Leave some room for dessert, okay."

She looked up at him and followed his gaze as he sat down.

"There's dessert?"

"Yeah, of course there's dessert."

"You're spoiling me. And getting me fat, probably."

"Get used to it, _babe_." He put emphasis on that last word.

* * *

After dinner, they did the dishes side by side. Elizabeth rinsed the plates while Henry dried them.

"Do you have a busy day tomorrow?" Henry asked her as he was putting the cutlery away.

"No, my first class isn't until 11 o'clock, so I can sleep in. I have a half hour break at one. And I'm done at three in the afternoon. Tuesdays are better than Mondays. You?"

"I have a lecture at nine and then another one at two in the afternoon."

"Wanna grab coffee in between?"

"Another date? And here I was thinking I was going too fast," Henry teased.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Just because I want to take it slow, doesn't mean I don't want to see you tomorrow."

Henry poked her side, which made her yelp.

Henry poked her again. Elizabeth defended herself while shrieking. "Henry, don't!"

He kept attacking her, tickling her sides whenever he saw an opportunity. "Henry, I swear to God, …"

He put his hands up in defeat at the word God. When Elizabeth thought he had finally retaliated, he attacked one more time.

"No, Henry," she couldn't help but laugh hysterically as he was squeezing her sides. He'd backed her against the counter by now.

He stopped his teasing and stilled.

He held her face in his hands and closed in on her. His lips softly touched hers for the first time that evening. It had been nearly 48 hours since they'd last kissed each other properly. He looked at her and rubbed her cheeks with his thumbs. His eyes were drawn to her lips again, as were Elizabeth's to his. They kissed again; this time Elizabeth slowly allowed Henry entrance and let his tongue find hers. Elizabeth's hands slid up his strong arms and eventually locked them around Henry's neck.

When oxygen became necessary for both of them again, they split. As Elizabeth was regaining her breath, Henry told her: "I would love to see you for coffee tomorrow."

Elizabeth pecked his lips at that.

"You're so beautiful."

Elisabeth couldn't help but blush at his words. He spoke like he really meant it. And she believed him.

"Dessert?" Henry asked.

"I'm still stuffed from all that pasta. Would you mind if we wait a bit longer before having dessert? Unless, you want to call it a night, then I'll get back to my dorm. It's your call, you have to be on campus at 9 tomorrow morning."

"I would never tell you to leave," he pecked her lips. "So, what do you want to do while we wait for dessert?"

"Oh, I have some ideas," she flirted.

"Do you?" he replied.

She closed the distance between them. Instead of going for his lips, she put a kiss to his ear. "Do you have a scrabble board?" she whispered before slightly biting his earlobe.

Henry shivered. "Of course, come one."

Henry grabbed her hand and drew her to the couch. He sat her down while he went to his desk that was in the far corner of his apartment. He opened the bottom drawer and pulled out a scrabble set.

Henry put the box on the small coffee table and put the table closer to the couch. He sat down next to Elizabeth. She grabbed the letters from the bag and then gave it to Henry. They fell into an easy rhythm of playing scrabble all the while teasing each other.

* * *

It was their third game and Elizabeth had put all her letters on the board. Henry who was looking the word up in a dictionary, was impressed. He closed it and lowered his head. "I admit defeat. You are even better at Scrabble than you are at bowling. I give up."

"Sorry," was all she said. "You're a good competitor, though."

"Please," Henry said. "Spare me your pity." He chuckled.

"No, Henry, I'm serious. For a moment there, I didn't think I would win this last game. I just got lucky with the letters I'd drawn." She put her hands on Henry's lower arm as she said that.

Henry looked at her hands on his arms and then up into her deep-blue eyes.

His eyes darted to her lips. He licked his before he brought their mouths together. "You're sweet but merciless when playing," Henry whispered as their lips were already touching. They both turned more towards each other. Elizabeth's hands were still on his arm. Henry brought his other hand towards her neck and pulled her closer to him. He opened his mouth to gain a bit more oxygen before he intensified the kiss. Elizabeth's hands left his arm and she cupped his face as he drew her to her even more. Henry let the palm of his hand slip to her side and touched a part of her bare skin, setting it on fire.

Elizabeth withdrew from him after a while, out of breath and completely flustered.

"I need that ice cream now," she admitted still breathing heavily.

Henry chuckled. He stood and held out his hands for her to take them.

She willingly accepted and he pulled her up from the couch. As he was walking her towards the kitchen and his fridge she asked: "Mind if I use your bathroom first?"

"Sure, it's through the bedroom."

"Thanks."

As Elizabeth entered Henry's bedroom, she could see his bed neatly made. He really was a tidy guy who didn't like a big mess. Her coat was on the bed waiting for her to go home. She looked at a picture of Henry and his family on the dresser. A pile of books was stacked on one of the bedside tables. She entered his bathroom. The walls were white. There was a sink and a mirror, a shower and a toilet. It was clean and orderly. She hadn't expected anything else.

Elizabeth put her hands on either side of the sink and looked at herself in the mirror. She took a deep breath. "You can do this, Elizabeth." She inhaled and exhaled deeply once more. She used Henry's toilet and noticed a small spot of wetness in her panties. She used some toilet paper to wipe it away and finished up and flushed. After washing her hands, she made her way back to the kitchen where Henry was waiting.

"You really are a tidy guy," she said as she was walking towards him, not noticing the three boxes of different ice cream flavours on the worktop.

"Henry, my God." she was surprised.

"Vanilla, chocolate or pistachio?" he asked holding the spoon up.

She contemplated which flavour she wanted. He could tell what she wanted.

"Or a combo of all three?"

She looked up at him and smiled so brightly.

He smiled and nodded too. "A combo it is."

He put a big scoop of each flavour in one bowl and did the same for the other bowl. He put the remainders back in the fridge and asked: "Want any toppings?"

"No, thanks, this will do. Just ice cream."

They went back to the couch. "Do you want to watch a movie?" Henry asked.

Elizabeth looked at the time on the watch on her wrist. "I do but it's almost ten. I don't want to get back to my dorm too late."

"We can always pause it. That will give you a reason to come back and finish it with me." Henry smiled. Hoping she would indeed come back. He was hopeful. She might not feel the same way about him but she had been honest and he appreciated that. And their kissing indicated that she did indeed feel something; that there was indeed something there.

Henry put his bowl of ice cream on top of the scrabble board that was still displayed on the coffee table as he looked for a movie.

He put the video of _Romancing the Stone_ in the record player, pressed play and made his way back to the couch.

"Kathleen Turner is my weakness," he quipped as he took another spoonful and sat back down next to her.

Elizabeth nudged him and the spoon somehow ended up next to his mouth. Elizabeth snorted loudly.

Henry tried to wipe off the ice cream with his fingers but he missed a spot. "Wait," Elizabeth said.

She put her bowl in her lap and wiped the ice cream off of Henry's face with her thumb. She was still giggling while doing so.

"You think that's funny?" Henry asked. She just nodded while smiling widely.

"Not so funny now, is it?" He saw Elizabeth's facial expression change; obviously expressing she couldn't believe he had just smeared a spoonful of ice cream across her chin. Her mouth was open from disbelief. Before she could say anything, Henry had started to lick it off. He sucked on her chin and made his way up towards her lips. Soon, their tongues had found each other; the movie was long forgotten before it had even started.

As he came up for air and let go of her, he whispered a little out of breath: "Correction, you're my weakness."

In the meantime, she took the last spoonful of ice-cream from the bowl that was still in her lap. She let the ice cream melt in her mouth while bringing their faces back together. As she was kissing him fervently, she put her bowl on the coffee table before putting her hand on Henry's knee and doing the same with his bowl.

"No more ice cream?" he asked.

She shook her head. "You're better," she pecked his lips, "tastier," another peck.

She put her right leg on the couch while the other was dangling off the side. Turning all her attention to Henry, she pulled his T-shirt and brought him closer to her. She closed the distance between them and started kissing him passionately.

She literally took Henry's breath away.

"Elizabeth," he hushed. "This is not taking it slowly," he was able to say before her lips were back on his and her hands were roaming all over his chest.

"Isn't this what you want?" she asked as she tried to snuck off his shirt.

He took her shoulders. And pushed her away lightly so he could look into her eyes.

"I like this," he pecked her lips. "But I don't think we're ready for this. I'm not, anyway."

"Really?" she asked him incredulously.

"Really." He looked into her eyes. "I've said it before. I think you're gorgeous. I think you're amazing. I think you're bright. I think you're one of the best people in this world. And if the time is right, when I'm ready," and then he stared at her even more intently, " and when you're ready," he searched her eyes, "then we can pick up the pace." He smiled. "If you know what I mean."

"Wow," she breathed.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing. I just figured that's what any guy would want when he asked a girl to come over for dinner."

"Not me." He gave her the sweetest smile. "I mean, I will want this, at some point. Just not now. And I don't think you really want this either. I don't want us to be purely physical, you know?"

She nodded and placed the softest of kisses to his lips. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Come here," he said as he pulled her into his side. "Let's watch Kathleen Turner."

"Well, I'm here for Michael Douglas," she retorted.

"Really? Michael Douglas?"

"Nice butt and body. He's cute." she said rather casually. "Not as cute as you though," two could play this game.

"Wait till you see my butt and body," Henry exaggerated. It earned him a snort from the girl in his arms.

* * *

Somewhere near the end of the movie, Elizabeth had laid her head on Henry's shoulder and after a couple more minutes he could hear her soft snoring.

When the movie was over, he turned off the TV and nudged her awake. "Elizabeth, babe," he whispered. She stirred. "Hey, baby, movie's over."

"What time is it?" she asked sleep drunk.

"Close to midnight," he answered as he put a kiss on top of her head. .

"I'll go," she said putting her arm around his torso and hugging him closer, snuggling in his side before she started to use him as leverage to push herself off of the couch.

He put his hand on her back and stroked her backside soothingly.

"Babe, I don't want you to go out alone this time of night. I'll drive you back to your dorm." He got up himself to get his car keys.

"Henry, you don't have to do that."

"It's either me driving you back to your dorm or you staying here tonight. In that case, you can catch a ride with me tomorrow morning."

"Are you suggesting I spend the night?"

"Yes. Or driving you back. Your call."

Elizabeth was wide awake again by now. "Okay, I don't want you to be all overprotective of me. Although it's kind of cute. I can take care of myself just fine."

"I know. I want to take you home for my own peace of mind." Henry gave her a shy smile.

"What's it gonna be?"

"Fine, give me some linen, so I can set up the couch. I'll stay here. I'm dreading going back out in the cold anyway."

"Euh, you're sleeping in my bed, babe," he insisted. "You can have the bathroom first. There's a washcloth and towels in the closet underneath the sink and I have a pack of spare toothbrushes in there as well. Help yourself. "

"Henry, you're not going to sleep on the couch because of me."

"I'm not," he said as he tossed her a T-shirt. "I'm totally capable of spending the night with a girl without touching her or whatever. Even if she's as stunning as you are."

Her mouth opened just a bit out of wonderment and he shoed her off to the bathroom: "Go on, we don't have all night."

While Elizabeth was getting ready in his bathroom, Henry took care of the abandoned ice cream bowls and the scrabble board on his coffee table.

He headed back inside the bedroom but Elizabeth had not emerged yet. He put Elizabeth's coat on the chair in the corner of his room. Next, he pulled the curtains closed and turned off the lights after having lit the small light on his right bedside table.

When the door opened, he noticed her small feet and legs that seemed to go on for miles. He swallowed thickly, as he looked her over. When he reached her eyes, he spoke with a husky voice: "Fits like a charm," he said as he looked at her thin figure in his oversized T-shirt.

"I left my clothes in there," Elizabeth said shyly indicating behind her.

"Great! Make yourself comfortable, _in here_ ," Henry said as he pointed his finger towards the bed and winked at her.

He closed the door to the bathroom to get ready himself. Elizabeth's mind started wondering to what else this night would bring. Henry had already made himself clear he did not want to take advantage of her. She had been willing though. In fact, she didn't think it would be that weird. Would it? Their kisses had intensified to a whole other level. She liked him. He was a great cook, that was a plus. So she would have been willing to thank him for this evening by giving herself to him. However, after him stopping them earlier and having heard Henry's arguments, she respected him even more. He really was a genuinely nice, no wait fantastic, guy. And now she was going to spend the night here with him. In his bed.

Henry emerged from the bathroom and noticed she was still standing in front of the bed.

"Do you sleep standing?" he joked.

She smiled. "No, I just wanted to be sure which side was yours."

"Do you have a side?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I haven't slept in a double bed since I left the farm where I used to live with my parents."

"I tend to sleep more towards this side, it's closer to the bathroom, but if you're more comfortable with me being closer to the door of the bedroom, I'll take that side."

"No, no, this side is fine."

They each moved towards their side of the bed. Henry to the left, Elizabeth to the right. "What's with all the pillows?" Elizabeth asked.

"One can never have enough pillows," he said.

"Aquinas?" she asked.

"No, that's just me," he goofed.

They settled in and just lay on their backs for a while.

"So, you lived on a farm?" Henry asked as he turned on his side and looked at her. Never had he been in bed with such a beauty.

"Yeah, a horse farm. We had about ten horses. My mom was crazy about horses and my dad was crazy about whatever my mom was crazy about."

"What are you crazy about?" Henry asked.

Elizabeth turned her head towards him and looked into his eyes.

She thought long and hard. "Math, popcorn, and ball games."

Henry laughed out loud. Elizabeth followed and turned back to look at the ceiling.

"You?" she asked.

"You," he softly said. He could see her blushing even though it was quite dark in the dimly lit bedroom. He put his hand on hers that were holding on to the sheets across her chest.

"I think it's crazy you're here with me. But I wouldn't want to be anywhere else than here with you."

She looked at him again. "Me too." A tiny smile appeared on her face.

"Are you comfy?" he asked.

He saw her nod.

She turned on her side as well so she was facing him.

"Are you?"

He nodded as well. "Never been more comfy."

He put a soft kiss to her lips and stayed close as he whispered: "Sweat dreams, Elizabeth."

She returned the gesture, put her lips to his. "Sweet dreams, Henry."

They looked at each other for a long time. Just staring at each other.

As he noticed her eyes were getting heavier, he spoke softly: "Whenever you're ready, you can turn off the light. Unless you want to sleep with the light on, then you can leave it on of course."

Elizabeth turned on her other side and reached for the lamp on her side of the bed. She switched it off and sank deeper into the bed. She really was comfy. She let out a sigh and felt her eyes slip closed.

Just then, Henry scooted closer to her and locked her in his embrace, spooning her just enough for both of them to feel safe and comfortable in the completely dark room.

"Goodnight, beautiful." He pressed a lingering kiss to her hair.

"Goodnight, handsome."


	8. Chapter 8

First Christmas

 _24_ _th_ _December 1986_

"Oh my God," she exhaled exhaustedly as they dragged the Christmas tree into Henry's apartment. "We are never doing this again."

"Well, you practically ran up all of those flights of stairs."

"I just wanted to get it over with. This tree is pretty heavy. I'm not sure it will even fit in here."

"Relax, I can always cut a piece off the trunk. We'll make it work, babe."

They dragged the tree towards the far corner of Henry's living area and put it into the pot that was already waiting for it. Together they lifted the tree and put it in the large flowerpot. "See, fits like a glove," Henry said proudly.

Despite the freezing cold and the drizzle of snow that was falling outside, Elizabeth wiped off the bead of sweat from her forehead with the sleeve of her sweater. "I guess you never know how many stairs there are until you have to drag a tree up."

"You did great, babe." He approached her and reached for her face. "You look pretty when you're all sweaty and ruffled."

"Thanks," she retorted sarcastically. "Where are your ornaments? I'll decorate while you make us something delicious."

Henry stepped up to her. "I'm gonna make your favourite."

"Oh yeah, what's that?" she asked as she put her arms around his neck and snuck closer to his body but keeping her distance.

"Do you even have to ask?"

She lifted her eyebrows.

"I'm gonna make my favourite girl popcorn." He pecked her lips.

"Popcorn for dinner? Are you getting sick of feeding me with proper food?"

"It's not for you." He kissed her lips and lingered a bit longer until Elizabeth withdrew and looked at him questioningly.

"It's for the tree," he stated. "I have no ornaments babe. I only have lights to put in the tree. I'll get those for you."

"We're gonna put popcorn in the tree?" she asked, obviously surprised.

"Yeah, don't worry. I know exactly what I'm doing." His lips found hers again.

"Oh, do you now?" she asked before he could crash their mouths together.

He found her tongue and played with it until things started to get heated. His hands snuck towards her back and down her butt where he pinched her cheeks lightly while pushing her pelvis more towards him. She felt him pressing against her and she could feel his starting arousal.

She pulled away from him and cleared her throat. "We should get started," she exhaled while leaving his personal space.

Henry smiled. She had been willing to give herself to him on their third date and now - after seeing each other every single day since she'd first spent the night with him two weeks ago - every time he took somewhat of an initiative, she seemed reluctant to take things further. Truth be told, he wasn't ready for that yet. It was interesting to discover how they could turn each other on just by kissing and touching each other. If she wanted to wait, so would he. Until they were both completely ready.

Henry retrieved a box from his spare closet where he kept things such as his vacuum cleaner, his iron and ironing board and boxes filled with stuff he needed only once in a while. Like the Christmas lights.

"Here you go, babe," he put a kiss to the side of her head. "I'll start on the popcorn. I'll join you in a bit."

It took Elizabeth about 5 minutes to untangle the lights. Henry was impressed. It always took him at least half an hour. She went towards the kitchen and Henry thought she would come to him. Instead, she grabbed a chair from around the dinner table and smirked at him. His disappointment obvious on his face. She blew him a kiss and turned around to get back to the tree. She held up the lights as she climbed the chair. She started from the top down and put the lights around the entire tree. Somewhere in the middle of the tree, she stepped down the chair and continued until all the lights were in place. She went back towards the kitchen and put the chair back in its original place. Henry had his back towards her this time and he was waiting until the popcorn was ready.

She put her arms around him. Surprised he turned around. "Are you coming?" she asked resting her head on his shoulder, eyeing him while darting her fingers along his jawline. He put a kiss to her hair. "Popcorn is almost ready. Hold on a sec." Henry turned back around and lifted the lid from the pot with the popping corn. "Let's go," he said. He quickly took the pot from the stove and put the popcorn in a large bowl.

Elizabeth took the lead in approaching the tree. Henry followed suit and put the bowl on the coffee table. "I wish you'd put a bit of sugar on it," Elizabeth admitted as she grabbed a handful.

Henry laughed. "Like I said, it's not for you." He put his arm around her. "This bowl is for the tree." He looked at her. "But, your bowl is in the kitchen." A wide smile appeared on her face. "Sugar and all."

Elizabeth let him go and went back to the kitchen to find a smaller bowl waiting there for her. "You're the best," she screeched from the kitchen.

"Come here." Henry said. "And bring that thing. I want a bite of that too, you know."

Elizabeth got back to Henry and popped one piece of popcorn into his mouth.

"Only one?" he asked with puppy eyes.

She offered him the bowl so he could take whatever he wanted. "Shall we?" Henry asked as he chewed.

Elizabeth simply nodded. Henry connected the lights to the power socket and switched them on. Elizabeth let out a sigh of happiness. She had done a great job putting the coloured lights in.

"Now, it's just missing some popcorn strings. Let's get to work, Adams," Henry ordered as he sat down on the couch with the pieces of string he'd also grabbed from the closet earlier.

"I prefer 'babe', babe," Elizabeth said plainly.

"I know. Me too," Henry showed her a shy smile while he handed her a piece of string as well. "This is how we do this."

Elizabeth followed Henry's lead and in no time they had strung together meters of popcorn strings. They finished up all the popcorn and when they were ready, Henry cut their strings and tied them together.

They got up at the same time careful not to break the strings. Henry didn't need a chair to reach the top of the tree. Again, they started from the top down. Henry finished the last part as Elizabeth watched him work his way around the tree. When he was done, he turned around to catch a tear slipping from Elizabeth's watery eyes.

"Babe? What's wrong," he stepped closer to her immediately, invading her personal space, silently asking her to open up about what was making her sad.

She shook her head. "It's perfect," she whispered. "You're perfect," she added.

Henry smiled weakly as he grabbed both of her hands that were dangling next to her waist.

""You're perfect." He convinced her. He could do that. Say something so meaningful and convince her that his words were indeed true.

"We're perfect," he added after that.

Elizabeth sobbed when she heard his words. He squeezed her hands.

"I never thought I'd ever be this happy again," she admitted. She had opened up to him in the last couple of weeks. Showing her vulnerable side, only when they were alone. When he could see and feel what the real Elizabeth was like.

She gave him a weak smile. "I know this is a difficult time for you, babe." He brushed the tears away that were falling freely now. "But, I want you to know that I'm here. I'm gonna do everything I can to make you happy. Every single day."

She chuckled. "Are you proposing?"

"No. Do you want me to propose?" he asked teasingly.

"God, no." Her sadness made room for playful banter. "Not yet anyway," she smacked his butt.

Henry was surprised at her words. Yet, he had to laugh at the way she could be playful yet serious at the same time.

"Now, tell me. What shall we do about dinner, babe?"

"I don't know. What do you want to do?" She let it to him to decide.

"Well, I need to go to the supermarket. I don't have that much food left in the fridge. But I'm not sure the two of us can master eating an entire turkey. Although, you never fail to surprise me," he quipped.

"I'm not that fond of turkey," Elizabeth said. "Why don't we go to the store together? We still have an hour before closing time. Then we can pick whatever we want."

"Okay, let's go," Henry took her by the hand and dragged her out of his apartment.

* * *

"We need wine." Elizabeth said. "And ice cream." She smiled expectantly at him as they entered the store hand in hand.

"Yeah, we'll get the wine first, then we'll figure out what we want for dinner. And we'll go for the ice cream before going to the checkout. We don't want it to melt, do we?" Henry quipped, knowing damn well most of their bowls of ice cream were left to melt after they had eaten most of it and had then started their nightly kissing rituals.

It caused Elizabeth to chuckle and she thought of the few times the bowls with melted ice cream would still be on the coffee table in the morning.

They decided on a French wine.

"One day, I'm taking you to a vineyard in France and we'll drink nothing but wine," Henry said as Elizabeth put two bottles of the wine in the cart.

"Well, that'll be the first time you'll see me hung-over then," she bobbed her head at her joke.

They went through the different aisles. "Quick answer: fish or meat?" Henry asked.

"Meat," she really didn't have to think about that.

They decided on steak. And tater tots. And a collection of different vegetables: green asparagus, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, parsnip and mushrooms. When they got to the ice cream department, Elizabeth seemed to be in paradise. She went over all the different flavours.

She held out a box of strawberry flavour and a box stracciatella for Henry to decide.

"Both!" Henry said.

Elizabeth smiled widely at him. "I think I could marry you, you know," she joked.

"I know," Henry said. "We're really good at taking things slowly," he meant it as a joke. He sounded sarcastic but Elizabeth flinched and couldn't help but wonder if it had anything to do with taking things to the next level. Or better yet, **not** taking things to the next level. They'd known each other for a little less than a month now. What was the respectable time to wait to take that step? Elizabeth didn't know. Heck, she'd wanted to take that step on their third or fourth date. They'd spent every single day together since. They had gone on dates and they had either spent time at Henry's or at Elizabeth's dorm. They'd gone to a party twice and she'd even spent a couple of nights with him after that first night together. It had never lead to anything more and Elizabeth felt comfortable with that. She, however, didn't know how Henry was feeling about it now. Maybe he was getting frustrated.

They made their way to the checkout.

"Do you think we have everything, babe?" Elizabeth didn't respond while she was putting the groceries on the belt. Her mind kept going places and her uncertainty started to take hold of her. "Babe?" Henry pulled her out of her reverie.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we have everything?"

"Wine, ice cream and dinner. Yeah! I guess so."

Elizabeth got out her wallet. "What are you doing?" Henry asked.

"I'm paying. I've been eating the food that you've paid for almost a month now. It's time I did something for you too."

"You don't have to do that."

"I know," she said, "I just want to." She gave him a sweet smile and a nod, reassuring Henry she wanted to do this.

Henry returned her smile and wasn't surprised she wanted to do this. Elizabeth was a very honest and respectable person who never wanted to take anything or anyone for granted. And she was definitely not someone who wanted to take advantage of someone. It was everything he loved about her.

"You're cooking though," she stated.

"Of course." He winked at her. "And you're going to help me, my little sous-chef."

* * *

When they returned to Henry's apartment, they noticed the soft glow the place had now that the Christmas tree was completely decorated and lit. They placed the groceries on the countertop. While Henry rinsed the vegetables, Elizabeth put the ice cream in the freezer until later and then opened the first bottle of wine for them.

She handed him a glass. "What can I do?" she asked him.

He clinked his glass to hers and sipped it before saying: "I'm gonna start with cutting up the vegetables."

"I'll help. But I first need to use your bathroom. I'll be right back," she placed a soft kiss to his cheek.

Henry followed her with his eyes. God, he was so lucky.

Elizabeth went to the bag she had put underneath her side of the bed. She smiled at the thought that she already had a side; next to Henry was where she felt best these days. She took out a gift that was wrapped and put it underneath her sweater. She snuck it a bit in her pants, so it would definitely not fall. When she was done, she went back to Henry.

"Okay, tell me," she spoke when she saw Henry had already cut all the vegetables.

"We're going to put this in a dish so it can go in the oven with some olive oil and herbs."

"That, I can do." She started working.

"Mind if I go freshen up?" Henry asked.

"Sure, go ahead, I'll shout if I need your help." Elizabeth answered.

Henry took a quick shower and changed into something more comfortable, he opted for sweatpants and a T-shirt. When he was done, he opened his bedside drawer and took out the small wrapped gift he'd got her. He put it in his pants pocket and went back into the living room. He could see Elizabeth was figuring out how to use the oven didn't notice him. He quickly put the gift underneath the tree without her noticing.

"First time using an oven?" Henry asked as he approached her.

"Very funny. Why don't they just make the same ovens for everyone? One type of oven should be enough and it would make life much easier." She was scrolling through the menu to get the degrees right.

"You're doing great babe. I see that you've already managed to put the plate in the oven," he joked.

She jammed her elbow into his abdomen as he was standing behind her. "200°?"

"Take 180°, that will give us some more time."

Elizabeth turned around in his arms. "Don't you look comfy? All dressed up for Christmas eve," she said as she put her hands on his chest. "And you smell so great." She inhaled his scent as she put a kiss to his neck.

"You're free to take a shower as well if you want to. If you want to change, just take something from my drawer that fits."

"All your clothes fit me." She said.

"True, and you look better in them as well." It was his turn to kiss her now.

"Come on, go ahead, I'll take care of the tater tots and the steak." He kissed her lips before letting her go.

* * *

When she was done showering, she put on one of Henry's boxers. She put on a spare pair of panties that were in the bag under the bed and she took one of his T-shirts and put it on after she'd locked her bra. The hem of the T-shirt ran to the middle of her thighs. Not knowing what to do with the gift she'd snuck in her sweater earlier, she decided to try to sneak it underneath the tree without Henry catching her.

When Elizabeth emerged from the bathroom, Henry was busy baking the steak but he immediately heard her. "Hey, babe."

Elizabeth silently swore. She quickly snuck the gift underneath the T-shirt.

"Something smells delicious," she said before asking Henry if he also had some pants for her.

"I'm afraid they'll all be too big for your slim figure, baby." He turned around eyeing her. Her hands were crossed keeping the gift in place underneath her shirt.

"But, just that T-shirt is fine for me, you know." Henry had to swallow at the sight of her.

"I don't want to get cold. I'll just put on my jeans again. No biggie." She quickly returned towards the bathroom and put on her jeans and snuck the gift inside the waistband just like she had done earlier.

"Would you mind setting the table?" Henry asked her.

"Yeah, sure, no problem." She set two plates on the counter for Henry to put the food on. Then she took the cutlery, two napkins and their two glasses to the table. She decided the table was too far from the tree and so she set everything on the small coffee table. She took a couple of cushions from the couch and dropped them to the floor so they would be more comfortable as they ate. She thought now would be the perfect time to put her gift underneath the tree but she was surprised to see a gift underneath it already.

"Hey, Henry," she called out.

"Yeah?" He looked up from what he was doing.

"I thought we said no gifts." She pointed towards the gift underneath the tree.

"I know. It's just something really small and it made me think of you. I just couldn't not buy it." He continued filling the plates with a steak, some vegetables and tater tots.

She nodded. Henry was done, turned off the kitchen lights with his elbow and brought the plates over to the coffee table.

"I figured here would be more Christmassy." Elizabeth defended her choice of eating at the coffee table.

"You're right. Good call."

He set the plates down and stroked his hand through her hair before he took place on the floor across from her.

"This looks and smells great," she said. "Thank you for putting this together."

"It's no trouble at all. Thank you for paying."

She smiled sweetly at him.

"And by the way, it's you that looks and smells so great."

She blushed at his words.

"Here's to our first Christmas," Henry raised his glass.

"Cheers," Elizabeth clinked their glasses together, wondering if it would also be their last Christmas together. One never knows. She was not naïve.

"I really like steak," Elizabeth said as she cut another piece off the meat.

"Slowly, babe, we have time," he mentioned as he saw Elizabeth was – once again – eating rather quickly.

Again he made a remark about taking it slowly. Was he referring to her way of eating? Or was it something else? He saw the change in her features and her mind wandering to a different kind of place.

"Anything on your mind?" Henry asked.

"Are you making fun of me?" she asked blatantly.

Henry looked at her. "Why would you say that?"

"Because you've made a few comments today about taking things slow. Could it be that you're referring to us, you know."

"I'm not sure what you mean, babe." He looked at her for further explanation.

"Are you ready for the next step?"

He didn't say anything; he just looked at her, still not sure what she was aiming at.

"Are you ready for us to have sex?" she asked him.

"Elizabeth," he sighed. "You're overthinking everything. What I may or may not have said about taking things slowly today has nothing to do with us having sex. Or not having sex."

She gave him a nod to express her understanding.

"Are _you_ ready?" he asked curiously.

"Maybe, I don't know," she said hesitatingly. "I don't know what we are? I don't know how long one should wait in a "relationship," she used air quotes around that last word, "before actually doing that. Are we in a relationship? I don't know. I'm not sure. And I haven't … Well, I mean, you would kind of be my first, so it … ."

"Kind of?" Henry asked.

"Well not kind of. You are my first," she answered him as she lowered her head, afraid to look at him.

Henry smiled. "Elizabeth, look at me, baby." She lifted her head up. Her eyes met his and she saw that his were sparkling whereas hers were probably clouded over with worry. "You would be my first too, you know."

"Really?" Elizabeth asked. Surprised, she just figured that Henry was no longer a virgin.

"Yeah. Really."

"Well, aren't you curious about it? And nervous?" She asked. She answered her own question right there, giving her own feelings away: "I mean, I'm just wondering when. And where. And how? And if it will be good, for you, for me;" she sighed. "I don't know what to expect frankly."

"That goes for me too, babe. And if you're nervous, I guess that means you're not ready yet and that's totally fine with me. I don't know whether or not I'm ready. But we'll figure it out together. Don't get all worked up over this, please."

"I'm not, Becky just said that sex is important. And if it's not good, then it won't last."

"Wow, seems like Becky's got all the experience."

Elizabeth shrugged. Henry scooted closer to where Elizabeth was sitting. He took both of her hands in his.

"Listen, I think sex is important too. If it doesn't feel right, or if it continues to be bad, it probably won't last. But I also think that two people have to get to know each other. We've come to know each other quite well. I know you, Elizabeth. I like who you are. However, I don't know your body," his hands went to her knees now. "I don't know what you like and don't like _yet_. But we'll figure it out. And if our first time – God forbid – turns out to be a complete fiasco, we'll try again until we do make it work. We'll figure it out together until, you know, we're both satisfied with and by each other."

"What if that doesn't happen? What if it stays bad?"

"If two people are made for each other, they will make it work. People just give up too fast, too quickly. I'm willing to work and fight for what we have."

She leaned forward and put a kiss to his lips.

"So, don't worry about it, okay?"

"Okay." She gave him a determined smile, although they still hadn't defined what they are to each other.

"Now eat the rest of your steak, and take your time eating it," he ordered her. "Just enjoy, babe. And relax."

* * *

When they were done, they brought their dishes to the sink and started their almost daily ritual. Elizabeth washed, Henry dried.

"This is nice," Henry said.

"What is?"

"The dishes, us being here together, working together."

"You like doing the dishes?"

"Yeah," he shrugged, "you know what they say, right?"

She looked at him. Not knowing what he meant.

"The couple that does the dishes together has the best sex together."

She snorted. "You should definitely stick to your Aquinas quotes."

Both were laughing out loud at each other's teasing now.

* * *

"Okay, time for your gift," Henry said as he finished cleaning the counter top and folded the towel and put it on the counter. He grabbed her hand and dragged her back to the Christmas tree.

He picked it up and handed it to her.

"What if I didn't get you anything?" she asked him.

"I don't care. Besides you got me dinner right?"

"You buy me dinner all the time. It's only fair I returned the gesture."

"I know; but I really don't care if you didn't get me anything. Now, come on, open yours."

Elizabeth went back to the couch and sat down. She put the gift in her lap and started to open it. Once she got the wrapping paper off, she saw a small velvet box. She looked at Henry who was eagerly waiting for her to open it.

Inside was a copper coloured bracelet with an inscription. Elizabeth held it in front of her so she could read what it said. _You are my favorite person._

"I love it so much, Henry, thank you," she threw her arms around Henry and kissed him fully on the lips.

"I'm glad you like it. Here, let me put it on for you."

Elizabeth extended her arm and Henry carefully locked the thin bracelet to her wrist where it fit perfectly with her other bracelets. He stroked the vein on the inside of her arm and felt her heartbeat. She gave him the sweetest kiss and lingered until she started to speak.

"I got you something too, you know?" she said enthusiastically.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I just wasn't able to put it underneath the tree yet."

"Well, go ahead."

She shook her head. "Find it."

"Find it? Here?" He looked around searchingly. "Aren't you gonna give me a hint?"

"Don't worry. I'll help you."

Henry got up and went to the bedroom. "Am I hot?" he asked looking at her.

"Yeah, you are, but not in this game," she snorted.

Elizabeth stood up as well and joined him in the bedroom. "You're getting warmer," she teased.

He thought she meant it was in the bathroom. She shook her head. He decided to check underneath the bed where he found her bag. He spilled the contents of it on the bed. Lipstick, her wallet, a tampon, her dirty underwear she had taken off before showering but nothing that looked like a gift to Henry.

He picked everything back up and put it in her bag again. He took the tampon and her underwear and he made it seem like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Something entered his mind. She must have put it in his closet as she had one of his T-shirts on. He roamed all the drawers but nothing.

He checked both bedside tables; still nothing that resembled a gift.

Elizabeth stepped back into the living room as he was looking around the bedroom.

"Is it possible it's not in there?" he asked her.

She just shrugged.

"Am I getting warmer?" stepping into the living room.

She nodded. She had a wide smile plastered on her face.

He looked everywhere but he could not find a gift. He scanned his bookrack to see if there was anything unusual. When she approached him to help him she mentioned he was getting warmer but he didn't get the hint.

"Kitchen?" he asked her.

He opened all of the cupboards and drawers and she could tell Henry was beginning to feel desperate.

He opened the oven and Elizabeth had to laugh loudly at that.

She backed him against the oven and kissed him. "You're burning yourself."

Suddenly it dawned on him. "You're the gift?!"

She shook her head. "Find it."

He raised his eyebrows. What was she doing? She was being mischievous and boy did he love it.

She took his hands and put them on her shoulders. Never abandoning him, she drew his hands down along her sides. He could feel the curve of her breasts slightly through his T-shirt on her. "Feel anything yet?"

His mouth was becoming more and more dry as he learned the edges of her body and he swallowed hard.

"Elizabeth," he whispered breathily.

"Keep searching."

She brought his hands to her back and to her butt. He roamed his hands around her butt cheeks and she shivered.

She then brought his hands to the button of her jeans.

It was then that he felt it. The gift.

She could see in his eyes that he had indeed discovered the present.

He lifted the shirt up a bit and saw what appeared to be the size of a small book snuck in her trousers. He also noticed she was wearing his light blue boxers and his temperature shot up.

He put his hand around the wrapped gift and she trembled as he came into contact with her lower abdomen.

"Take it," she ordered.

Henry pulled the gift from her trousers and held it in front of him. It had the shape of a book but the weight was not right.

"Open it," another command. He loved when she took the lead.

He ripped the wrapping paper off and looked at what appeared to be a hardcover. No title on it. No author. And it didn't weigh enough to be a book.

"What is this?"

Her eyes told him to open it and so he did. Inside, the book was hollow. It was actually a box and it contained paraphernalia. He took out their two tickets to Top Gun, their first movie together. He fished out a post-it on which she had written his first words to her: "Thomas Aquinas walks into a bar…" Next, he held out a picture of the two of them; the one they had taken in a photo booth on one of their previous dates. He also pulled out the check that held all the purchases of their first Christmas dinner together.

He eyed her. His eyes softened.

"If we put all our memories into this box, this book will tell our entire story."

"You're the best girlfriend! I love it!"

"Am I your girlfriend?" she asked, hopefulness speaking from her words and her eyes.

"Well, yeah. Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

She nodded. She pressed him against the oven again and kissed him, softly first. "No more air quotes then," she hissed before she kissed him more ferociously.

"It's official now!" Henry had the biggest smile on his face Elizabeth had yet seen.

He reciprocated her kiss and picked her up.

He carried her back to the couch and set her down on it. He turned away from her and made his way to his bookrack where he put her gift.

"This is my favourite book in this collection," Henry said as he looked at her on the couch.

He soon joined her on the couch and they nestled against each other. They talked and kissed and talked some more until both were exhausted and had to fight to stay awake.

Elizabeth spent another night at Henry's; in each other's arms, safe and sound. Soon, they would be taking their next step. Not tonight though. They would take it slow until both were completely ready and familiar with each other. They were on the right track.

"Merry Christmas, baby!" Henry whispered as he planted the last kiss of the day to her sweet lips.

"Merry Christmas, Henry," their bodies facing each other, their hands entwined in between their heads, they feel asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

First New Year

 _31_ _st_ _December 1986_

He's coming home today. It struck Elizabeth how soon Henry had become her home. He had left on Christmas day, late afternoon, to be with his family for the annual McCord Christmas party. He'd told Elizabeth she was welcome to join him, but she'd found it too soon to meet his parents. She was not ready. Besides, she'd made arrangements to see Will while Henry was out of town. She'd got back three days ago from the Adams's farmhouse and the dorms had been so quiet and deserted. Luckily, most students were making their way back for UVA's New Year's Eve. Some fraternities had made arrangements to throw a New Year's Party on campus, preceded by a lavishly catered dinner.

Elizabeth was never a big fan of parties, but Henry had called her all the way from Pittsburgh to be his date.

" _Hello?"_

" _Hi baby! It's me."_

" _Hey you." She was relieved to hear his soft voice._

" _How is my favourite girl?"_

" _I don't know, Becky's visiting her parents in Connecticut so you'd have to call her."_

" _I'm asking you, weirdo." Henry rolled his eyes but couldn't help but stifle a laugh._

" _I'm alright, I just got back from the farm."_

" _How's your brother?"_

" _He's doing okay. We had dinner with the people who are keeping the farm liveable which was nice."_

" _That's great."_

" _What are you up to?"_

" _Not much. I went to the store to get some cornflakes and milk. There's no one here to make me pancakes in the morning."_

" _I'm glad you're eating well. When I get back I'm going to stuff you with waffles and pancakes."_

" _Can't wait! I was thinking of working ahead, so I will be able to focus solely on you when you get back."_

 _Henry sighed: "I can't wait to get back to you."_

" _How is Pittsburgh by the way?"_

" _It's fine. Just a lot of food and a lot of arguments with my dad. But that's nothing new. I'm glad all of us are here though, so he's not only picking at me."_

" _I'm sorry, Henry."_

" _I just wish you were here. I miss you, babe."_

" _I miss you too," Elizabeth felt comfortable acknowledging her true feelings by now. She did indeed miss him. "When are you coming back?"_

" _The 31_ _st_ _, ready to start the New Year with you."_

 _Elizabeth smiled at his sweet words. "Got any plans?"_

" _Well, I received the news there will be a New Year's Eve Dinner Party in the hall on campus."_

" _Yeah, I've seen the posters."_

" _Well, it is in fact why I called you."_

" _Oh?" She was sure he was going to tell her he had made arrangements with his friends and he was not going to spend New Year's Eve with her._

" _Yeah. Elizabeth, I would love for you to be my date."_

" _Really?" Relief flooded her entire being._

" _Yes, really!" Henry smiled in silence awaiting her answer._

 _Silence was what he got though._

" _Still there, babe?"_

" _Oh, ah, yeah. I'd love to be your date, Henry."_

" _Great, I'm glad."_

" _What time does it start?"_

" _I've read that dinner starts at 8."_

" _Will I see you there or … ?"_

" _I'll pick you up at around 7, hopefully. I hope I'll make it back to Virginia in time and that traffic won't be too bad."_

" _Okay, I'll be ready. Be careful, please."_

" _I will. Bye baby."_

" _Bye Henry." She ended the conversation with a soft kiss into the lower part of the telephone horn._

Yesterday, she had gone shopping for a cocktail dress, which is something she hardly ever does, but she wanted to look special for her first public appearance with Henry as her official boyfriend. She'd found the perfect long black dress; it had a rather high split and it was closed around the neck but it didn't have any sleeves. She figured she could drape a scarf around her bare arms to keep her warm.

She woke up this morning feeling rather nervous. Henry had only seen her in jeans and sweats and she didn't know how he would react to her wearing such a fancy dress. She also wondered what he would be wearing. She decided to get some more work done to start the second trimester with somewhat of an advantage. She'd made the decision for herself that 1987 would be her year; hers and Henry's. She was ready to figure out if they were compatible in all the ways that count. Studying was not on the forefront of her agenda in the first few weeks of the new year.

At 5 pm, Becky entered their shared dorm.

"Hi Becks, how was Connecticut?"

"I'm so glad I'm back," Becky exhaled as she dropped her bags and herself on her bed.

"How was your week, Lizzy?"

"It was okay, I've been back for two days and I've done some prepping for the next trimester."

"You're such a nerd."

"That too, but I also bought a dress for the party tonight." Elizabeth said enthusiastically.

"You're going?" Beck sat up straight, looking at her roommate expectantly.

"Yeah, Henry called and asked me if I wanted to be his date. I said 'yes'." Elizabeth had a smile plastered across her face.

"Oh, you guys, you are so cute. You'll be the dashiest couple on the dance floor."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes at Becky and ignored her.

"Is he picking you up?"

"Yeah, around 7."

"Well, go get ready then."

"I can get ready in fifteen minutes, Becky."

"Elizabeth," she hardly ever used her full name. "Go shower, I'll do your hair. I guess I'm not allowed to do your makeup anymore after I screwed up last time."

"Well, if I had wanted to look like a whore, you'd certainly done a great job. Why don't you get ready first? I want to read just one more chapter."

"Fine. But I'm doing your hair later. I've got a great idea already."

"I'm sure you do."

Becky emerged from the bathroom at 6, clad in only her underwear.

"What are you gonna wear?" Elizabeth asked.

"That silver dress I bought with Chris two weeks ago."

"Oh yeah, you've mentioned going shopping with Christine."

"I'm glad you remember, you were too caught up dating Henry."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and pulled down her sweatpants and sweater before stepping into the misty bathroom. "I hope there's still some hot water left for me."

Elizabeth was done at 6.30. She'd removed the abundant hair on her legs, armpits and bikini line, she'd showered, combed her hair and she'd applied some light makeup. She didn't want it to get smeared from kissing Henry later. A blush crept to her cheeks just thinking about it. She stepped out of the bathroom in her black lace lingerie.

"I can see you've bought more than just a dress," Becky quipped. "That's fucking hot, Lizzy."

Elizabeth felt unsure about herself now.

"In a way that is totally classy," Becky corrected herself. "Henry's going to love it."

"You think?" Elizabeth asked her roommate.

"Lizzy, there's not a single guy who would not love to see you in that. Henry's a very lucky guy, believe me."

Elizabeth felt a bit of relief.

"Is tonight the night?" Becky asked with raised eyebrows.

"No, oh god, no," Elizabeth started. "Well, maybe. I don't know. We'll see."

Becky nodded approvingly.

"I just needed black underwear for underneath this dress. It would be weird if my red-flowered bra was showing, no?"

"You're absolutely right. Can I see your dress?"

Elizabeth took the hanger from the back of the bathroom door and zipped open the bag that held the dress.

"Okay, come here. I'll do your hair first. That way you can step into the dress without ruining your makeup or your hair."

Elizabeth put her dress onto her bed and sat down at her desk and Becky stood behind her. She lightly blow-dried Elizabeth's hair and combed it before working her magic. In less than fifteen minutes, Becky confirmed she was done and frankly she was happy with the result. She'd managed to get all of Elizabeth's hair together in a low side bun. She'd been able to use nothing but pins that – thank god – weren't showing. "Have a look and let me know what you think."

Elizabeth got up and went to the bathroom to look in the mirror. "I like the front, but I'm not able to see the backside. Do you have an extra mirror?"

"Oh yeah, sure." Becky retrieved a small mirror from her bag on the bed and went to stand in the bathroom with Elizabeth. "Turn around, hold the mirror like this. That way you can see how it looks from the back."

"Thanks," Elizabeth moved the mirror a bit to see all angles of her updo. "It looks great, Becky. Thank you!"

Becky was happy her roommate like it. "You're welcome."

"I'd offer to do yours but we both know that won't end well, don't we?"

"It's okay, Lizzy, I'm just gonna let my hair down tonight. I'll put some Elnette in yours so it will stay throughout the evening. Close yours eyes."

Elizabeth coughed and left the bathroom as soon as Becky was ready with the hairspray. "That can't be good," Elizabeth said waving her hand in front of her face.

"Come on, let's get dressed because if Henry shows up early again and sees you like this, you won't be going to the party, believe me."

Elizabeth went back to her bed to get the dress. She removed the bag and stepped into it. "Becky, could you help me with the zip? I can't reach it to get it all the way up."

Becky was behind her in no time. She'd already put on her shiny silver dress and was rummaging through her hair to give it some extra volume.

"My god, Lizzy, you look…," Becky couldn't find the words.

Elizabeth turned around and laughed.

"That is a gorgeous dress. But I'm guessing your figure has got something to do with the end result as well. Which shoes are you going to wear?"

Suddenly Elizabeth's face fell. "Shoot."

"What is it?"

"I don't have shoes!"

"What do you mean you don't have shoes?"

"I mean exactly what I mean when I say I don't have shoes. Shit. I've thought of everything. The dress, the bra, the panties,…"

"Elizabeth, calm down." Becky needed to get her to calm down now as Elizabeth was on the brink of crying.

"I have black pumps. If you want, you can wear those."

"You do? What are you gonna wear?"

Becky lifted her dress a bit and she was wearing silvery shoes.

"I'm a 7.5. You?"

"I'm an 8." Elizabeth felt genuinely frightened she would be going to the party in sneakers or boots.

"Let's just try them on, okay."

Elizabeth stepped into the black pumps that Becky had offered her to wear.

"How do they feel?"

"They fit, but they're a bit tight."

"Just wear them to get to the party hall. During dinner, you can take them off. No one will notice underneath the table."

"What about the party?"

"After an hour or so all the girls' feet will be hurting and they will all probably be dancing barefoot. Trust me."

"Thanks, Becky. You're a lifesaver."

"No need to thank me, that's what roommates are for."

"I forgot to ask. Do you have a date?"

"No, I'm just gonna be eyeing you and Henry all evening and be jealous."

"I'll let you have one dance with him," Elizabeth offered.

"Lizzy, I'm pretty sure he'll only want to dance with you."

Elizabeth blushed.

"I'm gonna head out already and start early on the drinks. I'll see you guys there."

"See you, Becky."

It was 6.50 pm, so she decided to figure out which scarf went with her dress. She just realized Becky had gone out without a coat on. She went to Becky's closet and chose a black scarf she would be able to give to Becky later on. For herself, Elizabeth chose a dark green scarf which was a bit see-through. It really brought out her eyes.

She jumped lightly as she heard a knock on the door. She cast one last look at herself in the full-length mirror before opening the door. She smiled tenderly as she saw him standing there on the other side of the door. Henry was clad in a black tux. He wasn't wearing a tie or a bow tie. The top buttons of his white shirt were open and, god, he looked so sexy. He was holding a small bouquet of wild flowers in front of him. For her. Elizabeth immediately felt warm inside when she saw him holding them.

The flowers immediately went to the back of Henry's mind when she had opened the door. His mouth was wide open and he couldn't seem to breathe regularly.

"Henry," Elizabeth asked worriedly.

"Babe, you look…," Henry shook his head. "You look…," he searched for the right words, "exquisite."

Elizabeth smiled shyly. "You don't look too bad yourself, handsome," she said as she stepped closer to him. She was just as tall as Henry now that she was wearing heels. Their eyes were at the same level and he felt paralysed.

"Henry," Elizabeth whispered. He snapped back into the moment and their eyes connected. The flowers still in his hand, he put his hands on her waist and pulled her closer to himself crashing their lips together.

"Hi," she said as the kiss ended and she looked at him sweetly.

"Hey," his voice was husky.

She brought her hands to his which were still on her waist.

"Oh," Henry started. "I've picked these for you. Fresh flowers from Pittsburgh."

"Thank you," she placed a soft kiss to Henry's lips to thank him.

She turned around and he could get a good look of her dress and her hair and her bottom. He swallowed thickly.

"I don't have a vase in here," she said as she emptied the pen pot on her desk. She put the flowers in it and went into the bathroom to add a tiny bit of water.

She looked behind her, Henry was still standing in the doorway following and watching her every move.

"Henry, are you alright?"

He was taken out of his reverie again. "Yeah, euh," he stepped inside and closed the door, "baby," he started as he approached her, "I can't tell you how beautiful you are. I mean, you always look beautiful, but this. This is…," he let his hands go up her arms. When he reached her shoulders, he made did the same thing but this time his hands made their way back to her hands where he entwined them.

"You are everything," he managed to say before he put his mouth on hers. He played with her lips for a while. She opened her mouth slowly. He let his tongue slide into her mouth tasting her. Relishing her. As he backed her against her desk even more, Elizabeth's tongue entered the game and soon they both got overheated.

"Henry," she whispered out of breath, "we should stop."

He nodded resting his forehead against hers, also trying to regain control of his breathing.

She manoeuvred her face towards his neck. "Let's not start what we can't finish," she teased, kissing his earlobe.

Henry took her by the shoulders and looked at her intently.

"Later," she whispered so silently it was barely audible. "Come on, let's go." She took his hand, grabbed her scarf and the one for Becky and together, hand in hand, they made their way outside of the dorm and towards the hall.

* * *

Dinner had been wonderful. There were about ten round tables for about 8 people each. The tables were beautifully decorated with white tablecloth, pink roses and candles. Elizabeth was glad Becky was at their table too. That way, Becky didn't feel all too left out. When the girl to Elizabeth's left had gone to the bathroom, Becky took her chance and sat down next to her roommate.

"How are the shoes?" Elizabeth could hear Becky had already been drinking.

"It's fine. I've taken them off now," she whispered as she put her right hand on Henry's thigh, making sure he still knew she was with him even though she was involved in a little secret with Becky.

"What did he say about your dress?" Becky slurred her s's.

"Well, let's just say he was somewhat speechless."

Becky snorted, which Henry thought was something only Elizabeth did.

"What are you two whispering about?" He put his right hand on Elizabeth's hand that was still resting on his leg and pinched it. His left hand found the small of her back and he let his arm rest there.

"Elizabeth was just saying how hot you look tonight, Henry," Becky winked at him as she said it. Elizabeth shot her a look.

"Don't mind my roommate, Henry. She's already had a few too many."

"How do I look then?" he whispered while softly touching her ear with his lips.

She turned around and faced him; she stared into his hazel eyes. Her hand on his leg slid up slightly, "You look incredibly sexy tonight," she whispered never breaking their eye contact.

He placed a kiss to her cheek and his head lingered near her chest. He was drawn to her like a magnet. Elizabeth's hand left his leg and she let it slip to the side of his face where she played with the hairs of his sideburn.

Henry closed his eyes for a moment and inhaled her scent.

"You two should get a room," Becky joked as she made room for the girl who had returned from the bathroom.

After dessert, someone's voice could be heard through the speakers announcing the party was officially starting. With an hour and a half left till midnight, there were plenty of songs for everyone to enjoy. "Let's party," the speaker said.

Soon, everyone had left their table and Henry and Elizabeth were left alone. Henry saw his opportunity and soon he was softly blowing kisses to Elizabeth's neck.

"Henry," she nudged him away.

"I'm sorry babe, just missed you so much."

"I missed you too but it's not fair that you get to touch me and kiss me while I have to sit here and restrain myself. Believe me."

Henry smirked. "Come on, let's dance," he grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet.

"Henry, wait," Elizabeth shrieked and immediately sat back down. Her hands disappeared underneath the table.

"What is it?" he asked with a worried look on his face.

"I took off my shoes; they're really uncomfortable. I just have to put them back on and then we can dance, okay?"

Henry smiled at her. Glad that even though she looked like a princess, heck a queen even, she was still this normal person whose feet were sore. She was still his girl who he loved even though she was wearing sweatpants. She was still his favourite girl.

When she'd put her shoes on, they made their way to the dance floor, not letting go of each other.

The first song they danced to was _Higher Love_ by Steve Winwood and Henry sang into her ear as he moved them across the dance floor.

 _Think about it, there must be higher loveDown in the heart or hidden in the stars aboveWithout it, life is a wasted timeLook inside your heart, I'll look inside mine_

 _I could light the night up with my soul on fireI could make the sun shine from pure desireLet me feel that love come over meLet me feel how strong it could be_

 _Bring me a higher love_

Various songs from that year were played: _We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off_ , which was actually the way Henry and Elizabeth felt about each other.

 _Night is young, so are we_ _Let's get to know each other better, slow and easily_ _Take my hand, let's hit the floor_ _Shake your body to the music, maybe then you'll score_

Other hits were _Living on a Prayer_ , _Get Outta My Dreams_ and many more. The crowd went wild as _Dancing on the Ceiling_ blasted through the speakers and Henry and Elizabeth separated and danced the night away. However, they were always keeping track of each other's whereabouts, exchanging glances as they moved to the rhythm of the music among their friends. Becky was leaning on Elizabeth while dancing, not being able to stay standing on her feet otherwise.

With half an hour left til midnight, there was an announcement that everyone should find someone to kiss at midnight. Everyone was ordered to find someone who took their breath away. Then, the intro of the Berlin song started playing. "Becky," Elizabeth said, "I'm going to dance with Henry, okay?" She steadied Becky before she left to find Henry.

When she turned around to go look for him, he was already waiting behind her, holding his hand for her to take.

As they swayed to the soundtrack of Top Gun, the first movie they saw together, Henry whispered in her ear: "You take my breath away every single day, Elizabeth." She shivered in his arms at his words. They pulled each other closer if that was even possible and stayed that way until the song finished. Henry placed a kiss to her temple when the song had ended. "Would you like something to drink, babe? In a couple of minutes the bar will be crowded to get something before midnight."

"Just some water, please." Henry nodded and reluctantly let go of Elizabeth's hand saying he'd be right back.

"I guess you already have someone to kiss at midnight?" she heard someone say behind her. She turned around and saw Tom, the guy she'd met at the library when she was waiting for Henry on one of their first dates. "Tom, hi, how are you?"

"I'm good. Thanks! I've euh, I've finished that Aquinas book, so you can read it again if you want to."

"Oh, I was just keeping myself busy while waiting for Henry."

"Henry is the euh, …," he pointed towards the direction he had seen the guy she'd been dancing with go to.

"My boyfriend," she finished Tom's sentence.

Tom nodded and smiled at her. "Lucky guy," he said honestly.

Elizabeth looked away shyly. "How long have you guys been together?"

"Oh, euhm, we've been seeing each other for about a month now," Elizabeth said a bit reluctant. It was crazy they'd only been going out for a month.

"Oh, well, that's fairly new," Tom stated.

Elizabeth just nodded. New, yes. However, they'd already become so used to each other it seemed like they'd known each other for longer than only one month. "So, are you here with anyone?" Elizabeth asked.

"Nope, just me."

Elizabeth felt for him. He seemed like a nice guy and he deserved someone.

"May I just say you look really great tonight, Elizabeth."

"You may and thank you," she replied to his kind words. Just then, Henry reappeared. "Here you go, babe," he gave her her water.

"Thank you."

Tom nodded at the two. "I'll leave you two to it."

"Oh, wait, Henry this is Tom, Tom Henry." She turned to Henry: "We met in the library when you were running late, remember?"

Henry nodded and extended his hand to shake Tom's.

"It's nice to meet you, Tom."

"Same."

"Well, happy new year you two."

"Yeah, you too," Elizabeth and Henry said simultaneously.

"What are you having?" Elizabeth eyed the drink in Henry's hand.

"Just some punch, want some?" He offered his glass to Elizabeth who took the straw in her mouth and sipped his drink.

She nodded approvingly and smiled up at him. She put her left hand on his waist and drew him in for a sweet kiss.

"What was that for?" Henry asked gazing in her eyes.

"For being you," she said.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we're going to start the countdown soon. The clock will start ticking on the big screen one minute before midnight. Make sure you have your loved one near you so you can, you know," the crowd laughed. "But first Europe!"

 _The Final Countdown_ started playing and everyone made sure they had a drink or a date or just a good spot on the dance floor to welcome the new year.

Henry's arm was lazily draped across Elizabeth's shoulder. Her fingers were playing with his fingers.

"This is our first New Year together," Henry whispered in her ear.

The clock had appeared on the screen and the final minute of 1986 had started.

She glanced at him and kissed him fully on the lips while she squeezed his fingers with hers.

10

9

Henry put his drink on the table closest to them.

8

7

He took Elizabeth's drink from her hands and did the same with hers.

6

5

He turned his full attention towards her again.

4

He grabbed both her hands with his.

3

He squeezed them.

2

The entire crowd was cheering and shouting but he couldn't hear a single thing.

1

"Happy New Year, babe."

"Happy New Year."

They closed the distance between them and while fireworks could be heard outside, they were creating their own kind. Sparks flew as they simultaneously deepened their kiss and clung to each other for support.

They found themselves in the middle of the dance floor. Everyone around them had started dancing again. Elizabeth and Henry, on the other hand, remained where they were, oblivious to the sound and movement around them. The room around them was spinning even though they hadn't drunk that much.

Henry gazed deep into her ocean blue eyes and saw the world in there. His staring became too much for Elizabeth and she blushed while looking away. He reached for her chin and lifted it with both his thumbs as his other fingers snaked around her neck. "You're all I ever wanted, Elizabeth. You are all I need." He brought their mouths together again, playing with each other again. His hands left Elizabeth's neck and went south to her waist. He pulled Elizabeth's pelvis closer to his own and let his hands room her lower back first until he found her butt and squeezed it lightly, unnoticeable to the people around them. She smiled first and then laughed loudly at his bold move.

"What?" he asked catching the glimpse in her eyes.

She shook her head. "I don't know. It's just funny."

"What is?"

"You grabbing my ass," she snorted.

Henry laughed too now. "I like your ass," he said. Seriousness taking over again. "I really do. Especially in this dress." He let his hand roam to her buttcheek again but let it rest somewhere near her thigh.

"Wait till you see me out of it," she teased.

Henry groaned.

She pecked his lips. "I'm gonna go look for Becky and see how she's doing, alright."

Henry kissed her on the lips. He refused to let her go and kept kissing her. "I'll be right back," she managed to say while he was kissing her.

Henry didn't flinch. She grabbed his hands that were still on her butt and withdrew them. She kept kissing him and then she let go. "Hold that thought, though." One more peck and she'd disappeared into the crowd.

Henry sighed. This girl was going to be the death of him.

He made his way back to their table. Dancing was no fun when she wasn't around. He just watched everyone else have fun, although the majority seemed quite drunk.

Elizabeth had found Becky who was in the crowd, dancing. With a guy. She approached Becky and tapped her shoulder. When she turned around she saw that the guy she was dancing with was Tom.

"Oh, hi Tom."

"Hi, Elizabeth."

"Found someone to dance with I can see."

He nodded happily and smiled.

"Listen Becky, I think Henry and I are going to head back soon. I've brought a scarf for you so you wouldn't get cold. It's on my chair, okay. Don't forget to take it with you when you leave tonight."

"Are you gonna stay with Handsome Henry tonight?" Becky asked, obviously still intoxicated.

"Probably. Do I need to take you home, Becks?" Elizabeth asked, worry written across her face.

"I'll be fine. Besides I'm not going home yet, look this is Tom."

"I know," Elizabeth said and she smiled at Becky.

She went closer to Tom and told him to get Becky some water. She told him she was her best friend around here. And that if she found out something happened to her roommate, she would find him and hold him responsible.

Tom nodded, obviously intimidated.

"See ya, have fun," and with that Elizabeth went to look for Henry.

She found him sitting at their table all alone. She went up to him and snuck her arms across his chest leaning over him and planting a kiss to his cheek.

"Here you are," Elizabeth said as she sat down next to him.

"How's Becky?" Henry asked.

"Still drunk. She's dancing with Tom and I told her he had to take care of her and give her water."

"Do you want to head back to the dance floor?" Henry asked.

Elizabeth shook her head. "My feet are killing me, Henry," she admitted. "Besides, I told Becky we'd be heading home soon," she looked at Henry expectingly.

"Shall I walk you back to your dorm?" he asked.

"Silly, I'm staying with you tonight."

"Oh," Henry let out.

"Oh," she mimicked him. "Is that alright with you?"

"Of course, of course it is, I just assumed because you said 'home' you wanted to go to your dorm."

"Henry, I sleep best when I'm with you. You're home," the honesty of her words caused Henry to take in a deep breath. He was her home. That's all he wants to be.

"That is, if we get to the sleeping part," she teased him.

"Let's go," Henry grabbed her purse and put his arm around her waist as he hoisted her up.

"Not so fast. My feet, remember."

"Take off your shoes."

"What?"

"Take them off, babe."

Elizabeth did as she was told. Henry in the meantime turned around so his back was facing her.

"What are you doing?" she asked him.

"Hop on!"

"What?"

"Hop on."

"You're going to give me a piggyback ride?"

He looked at her. "It's either that or walking in the freezing cold barefoot."

She hopped on and Elizabeth laughed as he hoisted her up even higher on his back. She shrieked as Henry made way for the exit at a fast pace.

"Hey Lizzy, leaving already?" she heard Christine ask.

"Henry, stop!"

"Yeah, euhm, listen, could you keep an eye on Becky? I'm gonna stay with Henry tonight."

"Yeah, I've been telling her she needs to drink some water but she just won't listen. I'll make sure she gets home safe with me. Have fun you two," Christine winked.

"Bye," Henry said and with that he left the hall and headed home with Elizabeth on his back.

"You didn't come by car?" Elizabeth asked searching the parking lot.

"No, because then I couldn't have a drink."

"Henry, put me down. I'll walk."

"Nonsense."

"Let me put on my scarf then. I'm cold."

Henry walked over to a bench and put her on it. He took off his jacket and draped it across her shoulders. "Here this will keep you warm."

"Thank you."

He took the shoes out of her hands. "Come on, back up, my lady."

"Henry, you don't have to. I can walk."

"Babe, hop on."

"Okay, just make sure you're not all worn out by the time we get to your place," she joked.

"Believe me, I won't, babe."

Elizabeth squeeled as he picked up the pace hurrying _home_.


	10. Chapter 10

First time (PT I)

 _1st January 1987_

Henry's pace had slowed down. With just a couple of hundred meters left to walk, it seemed like he was stalling somehow.

I didn't go unnoticed by Elizabeth, of course. When they first left the hall, Henry couldn't wait to get her out of there and now she wasn't sure what was going on with him but he definitely was in no rush to get home anymore.

"Henry, you can put me down." She was already easing off his back but he wouldn't let her.

"I can put my shoes on, you know. It's just a little bit farther."

"Baby, it's okay. Really."

Elizabeth sighed into the cold air.

"If you're tired, just say so. I really don't mind."

He had ignored her and just kept on walking, carrying her on his back. He'd do everything so she wasn't in pain. There was no way she was going to put those shoes back on.

* * *

As soon as they had entered Henry's building, he'd put her down. He grabbed her hand and together they walked up the stairs to Henry's apartment. When he put the key in the lock, Elizabeth kissed his temple. He looked over at her and gave her a smile. The door opened and he let Elizabeth get in first.

She let her shoes drop to the floor as Henry turned on the lights and eyed his girlfriend from behind.

"Thanks for piggyback riding me here," she said. "But you didn't have to do that, you know."

"I know," he smiled. "But I wanted to."

She stepped closer to Henry and placed a soft kiss to his lips before crawling into his arms to hug him.

"Shall we go to bed?" she asked expectantly.

Henry nodded.

"Come on," she took his hands and led him to his bedroom.

Henry quickly switched the light off in his living area and followed suit.

Once in the bedroom, Elizabeth removed the dozens of pins that were hidden in her undo. She put them on Henry's dresser.

"This feels so good," she said as she brushed out her hair with her hands.

Henry just watched her. She smiled at him in the dark, the light from the moon outside illuminating her perfectly.

She stepped closer to Henry and turned her back to him.

"Could you do my zip for me?" she asked him looking sideways holding her hair up.

Henry's hands were trembling. He tried to steady himself but she could sense his nervousness anyway. He slowly pulled her zipper down, revealing her gasped at the sight of her exposed back. His knuckles traced along her spine and it made her shiver with anticipation.

"Thank you," she whispered turning around and placing a kiss to the corner of his mouth. She took a step back and let her dress fall down. She stepped out of the puddle of black fabric around her feet. Henry was star struck. He didn't dare to look at her body, afraid he wouldn't be able to control himself. He kept gazing into her eyes that were uncharacteristically dark. He wondered what caused it; was just the dim moonlight shining through or because of what was going to happen.

Elizabeth stepped closer to him and put her hands on the collar of his fancy white shirt. She slid them down to his chest and started opening the buttons at a slow pace.

"Elizabeth," Henry whispered.

"What is it?" she asked in an equally soft voice.

He couldn't speak. He didn't know what he was going to say. Better yet, he didn't know how he was going to say what he was about to say. Afraid of how she'd take it.

She'd opened all of the buttons that were within her reach; she pulled on the hem of his shirt, removing it from inside his trousers. She undid the last buttons and drew her hands across his belly button, over his chest towards his shoulders. She placed a soft kiss to his heart before she slipped off the fabric along his arms. Once she had his arms freed from the piece of garment, she let it drop to the floor with her black mess of a dress. She could feel his pulse throbbing faster with every move she made.

Her hands went for his belt and she undid it, pulling it through the loops of his trousers. It ended up with the black and white that was already on the floor.

She started kissing his neck as she sought for the button of his dress pants. Henry's hands joined hers.

"Baby," he whispered as he took her hands in his. "Sit with me," he pulled her with him to sit at the end of the bed. He never let go of her hands.

Elizabeth's eyes searched for his, silently asking him why he was holding back.

"You're nervous?" she asked.

"Yes, I am," he confessed.

"Me too, Henry," she admitted. "Just relax," she placed a soft kiss on his lips. Before she continued, she looked at him. She kissed him again, a little longer this time and a bit more demanding. He didn't pull away and she brushed her tongue along the line of his mouth. However, he did pull away this time.

"I want to tell you something," he spoke.

"Okay," she nodded.

"I want this, Elizabeth, I want you so badly, baby. You have no idea how much," he looked down. He hadn't looked at her once since she'd been standing in nothing but her bra and panties in front of him.

"What's holding you back then?" she asked worriedly.

"I've had this image in my head of how your first time should be. What your first time should be like. And this is not quite how I imagined it, baby."

"I'm not sure I'm following you."

"Baby, look," he took her hands in his lap. "I had all of this planned, but I've just got back from Pittsburgh in the late afternoon and I didn't know you'd be ready for this tonight. I want to be with you, believe me, but I want it to be perfect. And you here, looking the way you do tonight is just perfect. You have no idea how perfect you are to me. But I haven't had the time to prepare this night for us."

"What did you have in mind then?" she asked curiously.

"I can't tell you, it's a surprise. Look, babe, I just don't think we should be doing this, rushing into this, after we've just come back from a party."

"We rushed out of there to do this; heck, you rushed me out of there."

"I know, and I want you, I want this. I just don't want it to be rushed. It's almost 1.30."

"I told you, you should have put me down walking here. You wouldn't be so tired now," Elizabeth quipped.

"It's not that. I want to take my time making love to you. I want to make love to you all night long. Not just a quick hump and fall asleep afterward. I want to talk to you and hold you and cuddle and…, gosh, I'm being sentimental, aren't I?"

"Yeah, you are," she snorted. "But I think it's kinda hot."

"You do?"

"Yeah, I was afraid you were going to tell me something completely different."

"I'm sorry, babe."

"So, how long do you want to wait?"

"Well, I think I can make the arrangements by tomorrow evening," Henry smiled.

"With tomorrow, you mean today then because it is already today?" she asked.

"Yeah, actually I do, today." Henry smiled.

"Okay, I think I can manage that," she eyed him seductively. "I don't think it's fair, though, that you've undressed me and you're still in your trousers."

"I'm sorry, I wanted to tell you, I just didn't know how you were going to take it."

"Oh God, Henry. If there's one thing I'm really satisfied with it's the fact that we can talk to each other. We can talk about anything, so why should this be any different? I'm really glad you've told me."

"I know, but you seemed so eager before when I came to pick you up at your dorm and when we were at the party. I didn't want to disappoint you."

"As long as you don't disappoint me tomorrow," she quickly corrected herself "tonight I mean." She kissed his cheek.

He looked at her and smiled softly.

"Now, get rid of those trousers, so we're even."

Henry stood up and pulled his pants down, standing in front of her in his boxers.

"God, you're so sexy," she said as she eyed him.

He put his hands out for her to take. She willingly put hers in his and he pulled her to stand with him.

It was the first time he looked her over from head to toe. He licked his lips before pulling her into a hug.

"Tonight," he whispered in her ear.

"Tonight," she replied.

"Come on," he picked her up off the floor and placed her in the middle of his bed. He quickly snuck in beside her and pulled her to him.

"What did you think I was going to tell you?"

"Oh, I don't know, my mind went to the worst kind of places. That you were gay, maybe," she confessed.

Henry chuckled. "Definitely not. I don't know how any man can be gay with you in this world."

"Or that you'd have a really small penis," the amusement was evident in her voice.

He laughed out loud now. "Guess you'll find out tomorrow," he said playing with her fingers.

"Tonight," she looked at him as she spoke.

She turned to her side and crept even closer to Henry if that were even possible. She kissed his sleep. He turned to look at her and kissed her fully on the lips.

"Rest now, babe," he placed another kiss to her lips. "You're gonna need it."

"Goodnight, Henry. Sweet dreams."

"Always."

And with that they slipped into a slumber of sleep and anticipation.

Tomorrow, no today, would be the day they were going to be together in the most intimate way possible. She kind of liked the idea of being excited for what was to come and what he had in mind.

* * *

 **For the record, I don't think there's any guy out there who would show this kind of self-control. However, Henry's not just any guy and it's fiction, so yeah. This happened!**


	11. Chapter 11

First time (PT II)

 _1stJanuary 1987_

Henry held out his hand for hers to take.

"Come on, let's go to bed, babe."

Elizabeth put her hand in his and he pulled her to a standing position.

"Are you finished?"

"Yes," he kissed her lips softly. "Are you ready?" He leaned back to look into her eyes.

She nodded. "Are you?"

"Yes," he scooped her up and carried her in his arms towards the bedroom. It wasn't the first time he'd swept her off her feet that day.

* * *

Their day had started out rather slowly. Waking up late in the morning, almost noon in fact. If it hadn't been for Henry stumbling around in the kitchen, Elizabeth would not even have woken up before noon.

"Hey sleepyhead," Henry had said as she appeared in the kitchen. She looked so cute, rubbing the slumber of sleep from her eyes; her hair was all messed up partly due to the updo it had been in last night, now it was ruffled due to a good night's sleep. As he looked down her body, he saw she was wearing his white shirt from the previous night on top of her lingerie. That sexy lingerie she was wearing last night when they had almost… His mind started wandering.

"What are you doing?" Elizabeth asked as she saw a blush starting to appear on his cheeks.

"Euhm, well, I'm, euh, making you breakfast," he looked at the clock. "Or lunch."

"Brunch," Elizabeth corrected him. "Smells great. What are we having?"

"Omelette à la McCord," Henry lifted the pan for her to see.

She smiled and put her hands on his shoulders as she passed him by. She took a cup from the cabinet. "Do you want one too?" she asked.

He lifted his own cup, silently telling her he'd already had coffee but he held out his cup for her to refill it with the coffee he had made earlier. As she poured the hot brown liquid into his cup, he looked at her. Admired her, in fact. God, she was stunning.

"Thanks," he said. She looked up at him and smiled. "Welcome."

"Come here," he put his cup down and stepped closer to her pulling her into his embrace carefully as she still had her cup and the coffee pot in her hands.

"Watch out," she nearly yelled. "I'll burn you."

He blew kisses onto her neck and made his way up to her mouth.

She turned away from him. "Let me at least drink my coffee first or brush my teeth," she said rather embarrassed about not brushing her teeth before going to bed last night.

He pecked her lips nonetheless. He tapped her butt and released her from his embrace.

She poured herself a cup of coffee and looked at him as she did so. He was focussed on the stove again; he was still in his black boxers and he had put on a plain black shirt. He looked so sexy and she simply could not look away.

"Damnit," she cried out. The coffee she was pouring was brimming over her cup. She quickly put the pot on the worktop.

"Careful babe," he took her full cup from her and put it down on the worktop without spilling too much of it.

He wrapped his arms underneath her butt and lifted her up. He put her on the counter so she wouldn't burn her feet in the small yet very hot puddle of coffee on the kitchen floor.

"I can…," she started but Henry was already putting paper towels on the floor, removing the spilled coffee.

"You okay?" he asked when he was done.

Elizabeth nodded. "Thank you," she said sheepishly.

Henry lowered his head and sipped from her full cup of coffee. He went to the fridge and topped her coffee with the milk she needed in it every morning.

She glanced at him proudly. Satisfied with the fact that he knew exactly what she needed.

He lifted the cup for her and cleaned the underside with another piece of kitchen paper so she wouldn't spill anymore.

She took a large gulp and put down her cup next to her.

"Come here now," she said as he was throwing away the kitchen paper. Her arms waiting for him to embrace him.

Henry went to stand in front of her. She opened her legs and pulled him closer to her, her arms casually draped around his neck. "I'm sorry," she pecked his lips. "And thank you," again she placed her lips onto his. This time her tongue slipped out against his upper lip.

Henry's arms wrapped around her waist and he pulled her closer, deepening the kiss.

"I'd do anything for you, you know that, right?" he breathed out as he broke the kiss.

She smiled at his words and she brought him closer yet again.

Henry stretched his arm to the left turning off the stove, not wanting the eggs to burn.

Henry and Elizabeth, however, were burning; burning with desire. Their bodies flush together, seeking contact and exploring each other's bodies. He put his hands on her thighs and pulled her closer to his groin. She moaned into his mouth as she felt him against her most sensitive spot.

Their lips and tongues were struggling to separate. But if they hadn't, their first time would have been on the kitchen counter; something that Henry definitely had not had in mind.

"Tonight, babe," Henry whispered against her lips.

"I'll go shower," Elizabeth said as her head rested against his forehead.

Henry stepped back, giving her spece to leave. She quickly closed her legs and jumped off the counter he had put her on.

"I could use a cold one too," Henry said as he looked down.

Elizabeth smiled widely at him as he winked at her.

"Always welcome to join me," she said as she turned back at him and winked before disappearing into his bedroom.

Henry was left in the kitchen with his eggs.

* * *

After her shower and their brunch, Elizabeth wondered what they were going to do with themselves today as she was putting away the cleaned dishes.

"I need to do some shopping for tonight," Henry said.

"Oh," Elizabeth replied. "Can I come?"

"Sure, babe. If you want to."

Elizabeth spoke: "Of course I want to. What do you need?"

"Some food. Some candles. And condoms."

"Oh," Elizabeth started blushing. "Yeah, good thinking," she said, "I'll come with you."

* * *

Henry assembled most of the stuff he needed for that night, Elizabeth followed him in tow around the supermarket. "Make sure I can still move tonight, Henry, are we going to eat all of this?"

"I'm just making sure we have enough for the next few days. I'm planning on not leaving the apartment for a few days, if you know what I mean."

"Haha," Elizabeth laughed out loud. "Let's just see how tonight goes."

"You're gonna break up with me on the spot if it's bad?" Henry asked jokingly but with a hint of worry in his voice.

"No, of course not, not right away," she chuckled. "It's like you said, if it's not good, we'll keep trying," she said reassuringly. "Days even, if we have to."

"Weeks," Henry added to that as he put a kiss to her sleep pushing forward the shopping cart. "Come on, candles," he said.

The candles were on the top of the rack and Henry, tall as he was, could not reach them. Henry called Elizabeth, who was checking out some napkins. "Babe, come here for a sec," he said.

Elizabeth put the pack of napkins down and went to Henry's side. "Come here," he ordered her. She eyed him questioningly but stepped closer to him. He pointed his index finger to the candles that he couldn't reach.

Elizabeth looked up, before she could look down again, Henry had already lifted her up so she could grab a pack of tea lights. "Take two," Henry ordered.

"With two packs, we can practise for years," she joked. She looked at the package. "That's 200 candles, McCord?!"

He put her down and kissed her fully on the lips. "Decades," he said.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "If we haven't perfected it by then, I'll definitely have left you," she swatted his shoulder.

"Come on, just one more thing and we're done."

They both stood in front of the condom section with flustered cheeks. "Which ones should we take?" Henry asked.

"Why don't we just start with the regular ones?" Elizabeth looked at him. She snorted as she saw his face all rattled and confused.

"You sure, there are ribbed ones too?"

"Yeah, just the regular ones."

"No flavour?"

"No, no flavour."

"Okay then. Djeez," Henry sighed as he grabbed the pack and put it in his cart.

"Those the right size?" Elizabeth asked.

"I guess," Henry replied. "I got a pack of condoms once from my friends in high school. They all had steady girlfriends and as they set me up on a date with Sarah, they gave me a pack."

"Sarah ey?" Elizabeth retorted.

"Nothing happened. But I was curious and you know, I once tried one on when I was …," as Henry was rambling Elizabeth nodded and smiled at him. "Oh God, I can't believe I'm actually admitting this but, anyway, yeah, it fit," he sighed when he was done. "Well, this is embarrassing," he said.

Elizabeth ruffled her hand through his hair. "Relax, Henry, there's nothing embarrassing about it."

"Oh yeah? You're not the one confessing to touching yourself."

She held his neck in a deadlock in her arms and whispered in his ear: "I touch myself too, you know."

Henry looked at her in awe, nailed to the floor by what she'd just declared.

"Come on," she said as she threw a bottle of lubricant in the cart as well and headed for the checkout.

* * *

Making their way back home from the store, it started to snow. "Want to go for a walk later?" Elizabeth asked him.

Henry nodded. "We can have our first snow fight," he said.

"Remember, those are balls and I'm very good at ball games," Elizabeth quipped.

"We'll just wait and see," Henry joked.

While Elizabeth was putting the groceries away, Henry took the box of condoms and the bottle of lube to the bedroom. He put them on his nightstand. He changed the sheets and after that, he began to set out candles here and there. He would light them later tonight when they got back from their walk.

"Henry?" Elizabeth called.

"Yup, I'm good to go. Just need to put on my winter boots."

"Oh, mine are in the bedroom. I'll go get them."

"I'll get them for you, baby," Henry turned around and entered the bedroom again to retrieve his girlfriend's boots.

"Thanks," Elizabeth pecked his lips to thank him.

After Henry and Elizabeth had put on their boots, coats and gloves, they walked out hand in hand.

"God, it's freezing," Elizabeth muttered as she put both her arms around Henry's arm.

"I'll warm you up later," Henry bragged as he eyed her.

"Oh, I bet you will, mister," she drew herself even closer to him to warm up, to no avail however.

"Are you nervous about it?" Henry asked blatantly.

"Not really, not yet anyway. I mean, I might get more nervous but I want this, Henry, I really do."

"Me too," he whispered as he turned to her and engulfed her in his embrace.

"Are you nervous?" she looked up at him with her big blue eyes.

"I am, honestly. But I want you too. Promise me something, will you?"

Elizabeth looked up at him, her eyes widening even more. "What is it?"

"Promise me that you'll tell me if I'm doing something wrong or if I'm hurting you or if it's not comfortable for you or whatever. Promise me you'll talk to me about it." His arms were holding her by her lower waist.

"I promise," she said.

He lifted her up so they were face to face and he was able to kiss her on the lips fully.

"I promise," she reaffirmed.

"Good," he said, "I wouldn't want you to discuss our troubles with anyone before you talked to me about them."

"I won't, Henry. I promise I won't."

"Thank you," he kissed her longer this time as he slowly put her down her to the white clad ground again.

"Come on, let's go just a bit farther and then you can go and heat me up at home," she offered.

"Race ya to the top of that hill over there?"

"Nah, I'd rather just stick with you," she took his hand. However, she used his body as leverage to get a head start and sprinted towards the hill.

Henry was dumbfounded. "Hey, that's not fair," he yelled. He headed out after her. While he was running, he picked up some snow from the ground, formed it into a ball and threw it at her. It hit her right on the back of her head.

She turned around. Shocked he'd thrown a snowball against her head. "That isn't fair either. It really hurt," she admitted as she rubbed the back of her head, soreness evident in her facial expression. He put his arms up in the air while running towards her. She started racing again but she knew she stood no chance against Henry who was in great shape. He was going to become a fighter pilot, for Pete's sake.

She could feel him getting closer to her. Just as she was about to look around, he snuck one arm around her waist and spun her around. He stumbled as he did so and she landed next to him; the snow breaking both their falls.

"I'm sorry I hit you," he said as he pulled her closer and cradled her head in his hands.

"I'm sorry I took a false start," she spoke, snuggling deeper into his side. Henry knew she didn't mean it though.

"Liar," he kissed her nose.

"I'm sorry I'm a liar," she offered. That she meant.

Henry pulled her on top of him. He wove their hands together and he started making a snow angel with his arms and legs. Elizabeth's arms and legs were on top of Henry's and so she joined him in his creation.

She started kissing him with passion as their legs and arms were moving simultaneously. Henry brought their arms to her side and he cupped her butt. Elizabeth put her arms next to Henry's head and sat up as she kept on kissing him. Henry followed her into this sitting position and his hands slid to her thighs.

"Baby," he stopped kissing her for a moment.

Elizabeth moaned. She opened her mouth further and intensified their kissing if that was even possible. She ground her hips against his. Their winter attire prevented them from thoroughly feeling one another.

Henry, however, knew they had to stop. He rolled them over so Elizabeth was now lying with her back to the ground. Henry looked up from her face. She spread her arms and legs, noticing she was a much smaller snow angel than Henry.

"You're big," she giggled, her head turning sideways to see her arms didn't even reach the outline of the angel Henry had drawn with his limbs just moments ago.

"You're beautiful," he responded as he kept staring at her face.

When she focussed on him again, she lifted her head and softly sucked his upper lip.

"Come on," she said, "let's go."

They walked hand in hand and reached the top of the hill together. The view was rather spectacular. There was no one else outside on this freezing cold new year's day and the entire park was covered in a white layer of snow.

They kissed and as it was getting dark and even chillier they decided to head back.

* * *

Dinner had been wonderful. Henry had prepared a legendary chilli in no time and they had both enjoyed each other's company.

It was eight thirty when they'd finished the dishes together and put everything back in its place.

Elizabeth watched as Henry folded the towel and put everything orderly before she made her move. She took his hand with both of hers and led him to the couch. She pushed him down by the shoulders and lowered herself onto his lap, kissing him softly. She drew back and looked from his mouth to his eyes and back to his mouth. Soon their tongues were fumbling, exploring each other's mouths. She took his hands that were on her sides and brought them underneath her sweater. She felt so warm underneath his touch. Her hands went through his hair. "I want you, Henry," she sighed in his ear while nibbling his lobe. He traced the back of her spine with his index finger and she shivered underneath his touch.

"Wait here," he said and he pushed her off of his lap. He moved into the bedroom and reappeared within a couple of minutes.

* * *

Henry held out his hand for hers to take.

"Come on, let's go to bed, babe."

Elizabeth put her hand in his and he pulled her to a standing position.

"Are you finished?"

"Yes," he kissed her lips softly. "Are you ready?" He leaned back to look into her eyes.

She nodded. "Are you?"

"Yes," he scooped her up and carried her in his arms towards the bedroom.

"Sweeping me off my feet yet again?" she asked him as she put her arms around his neck.

"Always," he kicked the bedroom door shut softly with his right foot and he carried her to the bed.

"Henry," she whispered, looking around her taking in every corner of the bedroom.

The room was beautifully decorated with what she thought were all the two packs of candles, lit this time. In reality, Henry had only put about 30 tea lights across the room. Three were on each of their bedside tables, five on his dresser. And about ten were placed on his two windowsills. The top windows were slightly opened so a cold breeze could fill the room and it made the light of the candles sway. It gave the room a warm and golden glow.

"It's so beautiful," she said softly.

He put her down in front of his bed. "You're beautiful, Elizabeth," the truthfulness in his voice made her shiver.

"Here we are again," she said, taking hold of his hands in hers.

"Yeah," Henry said.

"I'll be back in just a minute," Elizabeth said and she disappeared into his bathroom.

Henry went back to the living room to put on some slow music. He turned the volume up a bit so it could be heard in the bedroom. He went to sit on his side of the bed and read the instructions on the pack of condoms.

When the door opened, he put the pack back down and stood up. He could tell Elizabeth had removed the little make-up she had been wearing all day. As she flicked off the light in the bathroom, Henry went to her and took her hand.

"Nervous?"

She shook her head slightly. "I'm okay," she admitted.

Her hands slid to the rim of her sweater and she pulled it over and off her head in one swift motion. She let it drop to the floor while eyeing him lustfully. His hands rested on top of her shoulders and he slowly caressed her arms further down, squeezing her hands as he held them in hers. Bringing their heads closer together, their lips met in a soft kiss. Elizabeth did the same with Henry's sweater as she'd done just seconds ago with hers. Her fingers traced the lines of his abs while Henry's attention was below her ear. She bent her neck further so he could cover more of that area, she breathed heavily as he was kissing her earlobe and neck. Next, he took care of her collarbones, sliding his tongue along her sophisticated pulse point. He lowered himself to sit at the foot of his bed while he buried his head in between her breasts. He sucked and bit the flesh that was not covered by her bra. His big hands cupper her breasts and gave them a light squeeze. Elizabeth's back arched at the contact as she rested her hands at the back of his head.

His mouth was travelling lower and lower, diving into her belly button before he landed on her lower abdomen. His hands unhurriedly undid the button and zip of her jeans. His hands slowly found her butt beneath the hard fabric of her jeans. Her lace panty felt so soft against his palms. He clamped his fingers on her trousers and pulled them down as far as he could. He fell to his knees to remove the tight piece of clothing from her lower legs. As she stepped out of one side of her trousers, Henry held her steady by her other calf. Her hands were resting on his shoulders as they were both looking down at what he was doing, ever so carefully, ever the gentle man.

When the jeans had found its destination with both their sweaters, Henry slightly traced her legs with his fingers. He started placing kisses on her inner thighs and Elizabeth shivered. She couldn't hide the smile on her face and the giggle she uttered as Henry looked up at her.

"It tickles a bit," she whispered.

Henry wanted to slide down her panty but Elizabeth prevented him from doing so. He quickly got up to his feet; worried he was going too fast for her liking.

"Your clothes have to come off first," she said and she was already headed for his belt. She pulled the belt from the loops of his trousers and it was added to the pile of clothing. He looked down at her hands that were steadily opening the buttons of his jeans. She looked into his hazel eyes before bringing his pants down and dropping them to the floor. Henry stepped out of them and pushed them towards the heap of scattered clothing.

"Now we're even," Elizabeth whispered once Henry was only in his boxers.

He looked down at her and before he could kiss her, she had tiptoed towards her side of the bed. She placed herself on her right side. She glanced at Henry who was still standing at the foot of the bed.

"Are you coming or …?" she asked playfully patting the free spot beside her.

She could tell by looking at his boxers Henry was already getting excited. He settled on his left side glancing over her body. His right hand travelled along her side memorizing every muscle, every freckle, every protruding bone, every inch of her glorious body illuminated like a goddess by the burning candles.

She trembled underneath his touch and it became too much for her seeing him adore her like this. She slid closer towards his body, wrapping him around her. Softly, she let their mouths find each other. As Henry's hold on her and she could not keep up with the pace of his tongue working inside her mouth, she opened hers and let out a searing breath.

She pushed him down onto his back, her hands resting on his chest. Lowering her head, she kissed his forehead, his eyelids, his cheeks, his chin, his lips and finally the tip of his nose. She guided his hands from her sides towards the back of her bra. He fumbled with the clasp nervously but was able to undo the garment in a really sharp time. She smiled down at him nervously giving him permission to remove her bra. When her breasts were released, Henry embraced his girlfriend and sat up with her in his lap. His mouth was sucking on her nipple while his fingers were playing with her other one. She let out a shaky breath.

He looked up to see her enjoying his touches and kisses. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was slightly opened as if it provided her with more much needed oxygen.

He turned them both over, so Elizabeth was now splayed out onto his bed. She lifted her head to lick his lips and kiss him passionately. She managed to get her legs from underneath his lower body. Her heels were on the back of his thighs. She could feel him harden on top of her as he was peppering her with kisses and inhaling her scent.

Her hands slid from his biceps to his sides as she tried to push down his boxers. Her hands could not take care so she used her feet to remove them all the way down to his feet. Henry wriggled them off of him entirely.

He looked at her and stared deep into her eyes looking for affirmation. "We're not even anymore," he hushed.

"Take it off," she ordered him. He sat down on his knees in between her legs. He lifted her left leg and brought it up so her knee was near her boob and he stretched her leg so it was next to her right leg, making it easier to remove her panties in one single step. He followed the movement of her panties from their original spot to where he removed them from around her delicate feet.

Elizabeth, in the meantime, had taken in all of Henry's manliness, satisfied; yet a bit worried with the result. He put the soles of her feet down on the mattress in front of him. His hands were resting on her knees and he looked over them. She let her legs fall apart a bit, so Henry could regain his previous position on top of her.

"You are

beautiful," Henry whispered looking dreamily into her eyes.

Nervously, she was able to give him a shy smile. He could tell immediately her determination had made room fro nervousness and doubtfulness.

"Babe, we'll go slow," he promised.

She nodded. "Remember what I said earlier?" he asked her for reaffirmation.

"Yeah, I do," she whispered.

"Tell me, what's wrong?" he asked with nothing but love in his eyes.

She shook her head slightly not wanting to affront or worry him. Her eyes went to his penis which was fully erected by now. Her right hand followed her eyes and she touched him slightly before wrapping her hand around it.

He looked down as well at what she was doing. "Baby, you make me feel so good." He bucked into her hand. As Elizabeth was stroking his most intimate part, Henry's hands slid up along her calves, her knees and thighs. He tongue followed his every move, creating a wet trail along her leg. When he reached her most intimate area, Henry inhaled her scent. He blew kisses on his stomach all the way round her pelvis. The palms of his hands were massaging her inner thighs and she couldn't stay put and lifted her hips off of the bed. Her hand could not keep on doing what it was doing to Henry and she brought both of her hands to her forehead.

"Henry," she whispered.

He looked up at her and saw her lick her lips.

"I want you, Henry," she hissed.

His mouth lightly bit her mons before his tongue licked along her slimy folds.

She shivered at his touch.

"Oh God," she moaned.

"May I?" Henry asked her.

She nodded her head. Not sure what she was agreeing to but she knew it couldn't be bad based on the way he was making her feel at his touch.

Henry slowly slipped one finger inside of her as his tongue played went in search of her clit. When she gave him some sort of scream, he assumed he'd found the spot his friends had referred to in their guys' talks as the magic button.

She was extremely wet and ready for more. He added a second finger and slowly slid in and out of her watching what the effect on her was of every single move of his.

Her eyes were closed and her head was turned into the pillow. Her back was curled up from the mattress. As he put his mouth around her clit and started sucking, her head snapped up and she bit her lip.

"Fuck," Elizabeth hissed. "Henry, stop, stop, stop," she breathed out heavily.

"I'm sorry."

"No, don't be," she took a deep breath. "That felt amazing. I just…," she stopped.

"Babe?"

"I think I'll come when you continue doing that."

"So, actually you don't want me to stop?" Henry asked.

"I want us both to be able to enjoy this."

"Baby, relax. Lie down," he slowly lowered her to the mattress again. "I am enjoying this, believe me."

Her hand went to his head. She pulled his hair lightly and demanded from him he'd continue: "Don't stop then, Henry."

Henry went back to work. He picked up the pace of his hand inserting two fingers while his tongue flicked around her clit. Her breathing was becoming more and more shallow. She pushed his head down between her legs and she tumbled into a shaft of bliss as her orgasm took over.

His name left her lips in a loud prayer. Henry was in awe as he watched her spasm around his fingers that were still inside of her.

"Baby?" he asked as he scooted up her body.

She was catching her breath. Beads of sweat were forming on her forehead.

"That!" she kissed him. "Was," Another kiss. "Amazing."

"Yeah?" he asked, curious as to how he had made her feel.

"Yeah!" she nodded her head with determination her arms cuddling him to her chest.

He had the widest grin on his face as he snuggled closer to her, burying his head in her neck while placing wet kisses to her shoulder.

"Think you're up for more?" he asked her.

"We'll find out, right?"

"Right," Henry promised.

He braced himself on his arms as his mouth put slow wet kisses to her breasts. He licked his way down to her belly button where he remained for a couple of seconds. Henry sat up on his knees again. He pulled his girlfriend closer to him and he drew his hard length across her folds. He could feel she was all slick again. Her legs were wide open resting over his thighs.

"Baby, can I be inside of you?"

Elizabeth turned her head and saw the box of condoms on Henry's nightstand. She retrieved a single pack from the box that Henry had already opened earlier in case they would be in a hurry. She was grateful for that. She put the pack in her mouth and ripped it open. She took out the condom and placed the circle around Henry's tip. He placed her hand around her wrist and together they slid on the rubber.

Henry slid himself through her folds again and her eyes closed. Henry lined up at Elizabeth's entrance. He was leaning on his left hand while his right hand went through her hair. "Baby, look at me," he asked her.

She opened her eyes and she looked straight into Henry's dark eyes. He nodded at her, asking her if she was ready. She nodded, holding him by the neck for leverage. He kissed her, eyes wide open as he let his tip slip slowly but steadily inside of her.

Elizabeth's mouth fell open as he entered her making Henry stop immediately.

"You okay?" he heaved.

"Yeah, it's just, go slow, okay?"

He did as he was asked and gradually he put more of himself into her, expanding her with every inch he slid deeper inside of her.

"Oh," was all he could muster when he was completely buried inside the most beautiful woman in the world to him.

Elizabeth's mouth was wide open, welcoming him fully inside of her. He put a soft kiss to her forehead as he felt her engulf him completely.

He pulled back from her a little bit before slowly sinking back into her, pushing her deeper against the mattress.

"Henry," she heaved.

"Babe?"

"You feel really good," she said softly offering him a shy smile.

He pulled out of her a bit more and repeated his move inside of her. Elizabeth joined him in the rhythm he set out for them.

Henry felt all hot and bothered. He wanted to pick up his rhythm afraid he would lose it then and there without her reaching her climax. Sweat was starting to break out all over his body from holding back.

He pulled almost all the way out of her and dove back in with more vigour this time.

"Uh," she uttered.

"Elizabeth," he moaned, "I need to go faster."

"Go," she ordered.

He repeated his action forcing her deeper down into the mattress.

"Tell me if I'm hurting you," he breathily asked of her as he was sliding in and out at a faster and more determined pace. Yet, always aware of her feelings and what he was doing to her. He wanted her to enjoy this as much as he did.

"You're not."

Her legs were lying next to Henry's but she brought them up and locked them behind his back.

"Baby, I think I'm going to come," Henry whispered in her ear. He grabbed her thigh and pinched it as he drove into her.

"Are you close?" he asked.

"Not yet," she admitted honestly.

He looked at her and kissed her long and slow. His hand snuck from her thigh to her clit and he rubbed small but steady circles over it. He pulled out of her and plunged back in.

"Keep doing that," she said.

Henry rubbed her clit until he could feel her fold starting to close around him. He pushed her magic button and she screamed his name as her second orgasm washed over her.

Hearing her moan and say his name as if her life depended on it was all he needed to experience his first orgasm with Elizabeth as well.

"Baby," he dug in a couple more times riding out his orgasm. "You are everything."

Elizabeth was still breathing heavily as Henry looked up at her.

"Baby," she said.

Henry smiled down at her. "That's the first time you've called me that."

She returned the smile and licked his lips.

"You were right. We're not going to leave your apartment again the next couple of days," she was finally regaining her regular breathing.

He eased out of her and got rid of the remnants of their lovemaking. He snuggled against her; resting his head on her chest hearing her heart beat fast inside. He rested his hand on top of her left breast feeling it now as well.

"Was it good?" he asked.

"Yeah, it was good. Better than good."

"How did it feel for you?"

"Like I was floating on air with you surrounded by soft clouds and flashes of light."

"That good, huh?" Henry asked, proud of himself.

"Yeah, for you?" she asked.

"Same," he spoke, placing a kiss to her heart as he snuggled closer to her.


	12. Chapter 12

First fight

 _February 13th_

Henry was already in bed sleeping soundly. Elizabeth snuck in next to him and placed a soft kiss to his lips before she turned onto her other side. As she stretched her arm to turn off the lamp on the bedside table, she felt Henry stir and turn to spoon her. She smirked as he wrapped his strong arms around her lower waist.

"Hey babe!" he whispered to her ear as he nibbled it.

"I thought you were asleep," Elizabeth remarked quietly.

"Yeah, but you, my gorgeous princess, kissed me awake." His right hand went in search of her breast underneath his T-shirt.

She giggled. "I'm sorry." She grabbed hold of his hand and rested it across her heart. "Go back to sleep, it's late," she whispered.

"I'm not tired, babe." He placed a soft wet kiss to her shoulder.

"Well, I am. And you better be in great shape tomorrow," she sighed knowing it would be difficult to turn him down when he had already lifted up the large T-shirt she'd put on just minutes ago and his kisses were travelling lower and lower down her spine.

"How was the thing?" Henry managed to ask in between his oral escapade down her back.

"It was okay," Elizabeth squirmed as Henry bit her lower back.

"How's this?" he asked seductively as his right hand travelled around the front of her and inside her panties.

"Uh," she arched her back. "That's okay too," she managed to utter before she licked her lips.

Henry pulled her to lie on her back fully. "Let me give you a little preview of what tomorrow will bring," his mouth was on her stomach travelling along her belly button whiled his hands worked to get her panties off her. Holding his reward in his hands, he tossed the silk pair behind him. "Still tired?" he asked with a smirk, noticing how Elizabeth's chest was rising and falling more quickly with each passing second.

She shook her head and laughed as he ducked in between her legs.

"Just make sure I'll still get plenty of sleep, otherwise I won't be able to get through our first Valentine's Day tomorrow."

Henry lifted his head and gave her a broad smile peaking up from between her legs.

"Don't worry, we're not leaving this room tomorrow babe. You can doze off in between," Henry reached up to kiss her fully on the lips.

He hovered over her and was about to deepen their kiss as he noticed the frown on her forehead. "What?" he asked retreating to have a better look of her face. He searched her eyes for answers.

"You do remember we're having dinner with Becky and Tom tomorrow evening, right?" Her hands snuck along his body tracing a lazy pattern across his muscles.

"Wait," Henry thought, "what?"

"I told you, last week."

"No, you didn't."

She put her hands on his shoulders. "Yes I did."

"You didn't, babe," he pecked her lips, "but no worries. You can doze off before we go out and after we get back. After you know." He was back where he wanted to be. "Before I continue with my own meal in a bit. Where exactly are we going?" his mouth was planting soft kisses to the inside of her thighs.

Elizabeth grabbed his head and pulled it upwards so she could look at him.

"Baby, remember we agreed that you'd cook?" Elizabeth asked him. "You know how I'm always bragging about your skills as a chef."

Henry sat up on his knees in between his girlfriend's legs. His left hand was on his knee whereas his right one went through his hair in frustration.

"How exactly should I remember if I didn't even know we would be spending Valentine's with your roommate and her boyfriend in the first place."

"I swear Henry, I told you," Elizabeth was travelling back in her memory.

"When?" he asked.

"Last week."

"When last week?"

"I don't know. Tuesday? You were studying when I came in late and I asked you. You agreed."

"Was that right before we had sex on my desk?"

Elizabeth sat up and put her small hands on Henry's broad shoulders.

"See, you remember." She was about to kiss him but Henry took her hands off his shoulders and moved from between Elizabeth's legs to sit on his side of the bed.

He rubbed his head, obviously annoyed.

"It's okay, Henry, you forget things in the heat of the moment. I get it. It's very cute." She put her hand on his bicep, stroking it.

"It's not. What time will they be here?"

"Five," Elizabeth answered as she put a kiss to his cheek.

Henry fell down on his back. "My God, Lizabeth!"

"What is the big deal? You love to cook."

"Besides the fact that I wanted to spend the entire day with just you tomorrow. I don't even know what I'm going to cook. There's barely any food left in this house, so I'd have to go into town to the supermarket." Henry let out a sigh.

"I'll come with you, I'll help. It'll be fun. Seriously, don't worry!"

"Then there's the fact that they're coming here, which will probably mean they'll be here until the early morning not knowing when it's their cue to leave us alone and we both have to get up early the next day." Henry was starting to fume.

"Are you seriously getting mad about this?"

"I'm sorry; okay. I just can't remember any of what we'd supposedly agreed upon. And I had a whole other idea about how we were going to spend our day tomorrow."

"Well, perhaps you can finish what you started and not worry about tomorrow just yet."

"My mood is over. G'night." Henry turned onto his side leaving Elizabeth wanting and confused.


	13. Chapter 13

First Valentine

 _February 14_ _th_

Elizabeth had been dumbfounded at the way Henry had left things between them and it had resulted in her spending all night overthinking what had happened. How could things have gone so wrong in so little time? How could he just leave her like that when he was the one who had initiated things? At five am she decided to sneak out of bed, get up and start some schoolwork instead of lying in bed, worrying about how things were going to be in the morning.

It was a little after seven when Henry got up. Even though he'd stubbornly closed his eyes, he hadn't slept. Truth was, he'd been on edge all week; worrying about his ROTC training he'd received a letter about. He'd have to pick up his training as his deployment might come sooner than he had thought. He'd not mentioned it to Elizabeth, not wanting to worry her but it had got to him anyway. When she was out with her girlfriends last night he missed her and wanted to show her how he felt but instead things went terribly wrong. He felt bad for ending things the way they did last night.

He quietly opened the door of the bedroom. He saw Elizabeth sitting on his couch with a plaid covering her legs. She glanced up from the book she was reading, waiting for Henry to make the first move.

He scratched his head and padded across the floor to the kitchen. He poured himself a cup of freshly brewed coffee. Opening his mouth, ready to ask if she wanted a cup as well, he saw she had a cup of her own on the coffee table. He noticed she was still reading and made no move to talk about what happened last night. He took his cup and headed towards the bedroom. As soon as Henry's back was towards her, she followed his every move, hearing the bathroom door fall shut and the sound of the faucet indicated he was about to have a shower.

Elizabeth sighed. She went inside the bedroom, put on her slacks and jumper and headed out. She needed air. The walls were closing in on her and she felt frustrated. A walk might clear her head. She took the spare key and headed out.

The park was quiet. Of course, it was only 8 and everyone was sleeping in, ready to celebrate Valentine's Day. She sighed. She contemplated going back to Henry's but instead she headed towards her dorm to take a shower. Becky was still sound asleep, so Elizabeth grabbed her stuff and some fresh clothes and headed for the shower. When she came back out, Becky was slowly waking up.

"Uh, Lizzie, how can you be up already?"

"I went for a walk."

Becky pulled the cover over her head. "How are you not hungover?"

"Because I didn't drink as much as you did last night and because I left at a reasonable hour. What time did you get home?"

"I think it was around 4 this morning. You've really missed something though. Christine made out with that cute waiter. They're going on a date tonight. Isn't that great?"

Elizabeth nodded but she couldn't act the part, knowing things weren't right between her and Henry.

Becky noticed something was off with her roommate. She sat up but groaned as she felt the headache worsen. "My god, my head is killing me." Her head in her hands, sitting as still as she possibly could, she hoped she could make it go away.

Elizabeth just looked at Becky being miserable.

"I am NEVER drinking again," Becky stated. As soon as she had said the words, her head snapped up. "Who am I kidding? HA!" She got up slowly and made her way towards her closet.

"So, tell me, why are you here at 9 am when you are supposed to be with Henry?" She tried to sound as nonchalant as she possibly could.

"Because I wanted to go for a walk."

Becky rolled her eyes. "Okay, what happened?"

"Why do you assume something's happened?" Elizabeth asked her with her best pokerface.

Becky crossed her arms and watched Elizabeth.

"Okay," she sighed. "We had a fight. Our first fight."

"What about?"

Elizabeth looked down. "I'm not sure, actually." She didn't know if she could tell Becky, she might feel bad if she told her it was about their plans for this evening.

"Elizabeth, what could you possibly fight about after midnight? Was he mad that you had been out drinking?"

"No, God no. Besides I wasn't drunk."

"Then what? Henry's not the guy to start a fight. Is he?"

"I would have guessed not." Elizabeth looked around. "It wasn't really a fight. Things were said. We disagreed. I tried to lighten the mood. He just neglected me."

"Maybe he was just tired."

"He wasn't, believe me."

"Oh," Becky came to realize what might have happened or not happened.

"Lizzie, I'm sure there's an explanation for the way he acted."

"He also rejected me." Elizabeth squeezed her eyes shut; afraid she'd burst into tears.

"What do you mean, he rejected you?" Becky was all in for hearing the details now.

"When I came home, Henry was all over me. He obviously wasn't tired. You know," she gestured with her hands while shyly explaining what had happened. ''And then, while we were, you know, we were talking, we disagreed and he just stopped."

Becky had a smirk on her face. "He didn't finish you off?"

"Well, he never really started to begin with, but still…"

"Listen, go back. Talk to him. I'm sure he's up and ready to apologize… It's Valentine's Day for Pete's sake."

"Oh, he was up when I left this morning," Elizabeth was fidgeting with her fingers. "He didn't say a word. I'm afraid he's still mad for some reason and you and Tom are coming over tonight. It's just awful," her voice cracked and she dropped herself onto her bed.

"Listen up, why don't you and Henry figure things out on your own today, Tom and I can always come over for dinner some other time. I'm sure your boyfriend's cooking skills will only improve over time."

"Really?" Elizabeth asked, sitting up.

"Yeah, Lizzy, don't worry. We could always go to a restaurant or we could order in. It's best that we're just not going to cook anything ourselves. I'll call Tom about our change of plans."

"Thank you!" Elizabeth whispered. She figured Henry would be happy if she told him Becky and Tom weren't coming over.

Becky, who was dialling Tom's number, told her roommate: "If Henry's still pissed tonight, you can always join us for dinner."

Elizabeth gestured towards Becky she was leaving. Becky was on the phone with Tom and nodded while putting her two thumbs up. She mouthed 'good luck'.

When Elizabeth reached Henry's apartment again, she noticed his car was not in its usual spot. Wondering where he'd gone, she entered the building and went upstairs.

An hour and a half later, Elizabeth was seriously getting worried. She was pacing the floor in front of his bookrack when the key turned in the lock.

"Oh my god, where were you?" she asked.

"I could ask you the same thing," Henry stated simply.

"I went for a walk," she answered.

"And when you weren't back after about two hours, I went grocery shopping. You know, you can always give me a hand bringing all these bags inside," Henry insisted as he turned towards the hallway again to get the bags.

Elizabeth helped him carry the rest of the bags inside. In no time, the counter was full and each of them was dealing with putting things away in complete silence.

"Well, I'm glad we're at least talking again," Henry said sarcastically.

Elizabeth eyed him before dropping her head. She put the bag of flour she was holding down a bit too roughly causing the powder to fly everywhere.

"You're the one who chose to end the conversation last night," Elizabeth retorted.

"You're the one who didn't tell me where you were going this morning," Henry quipped.

"Why is it so important that you need to know where I am?" she asked him feeling a bit confined.

"Same reason why you wanted to know where I was. Because I care about you and I worry about you," he stated.

"Well, you didn't seem to care or worry too much about me last night," Elizabeth added.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Henry didn't know.

"Do you know what it feels like when your boyfriend gets you all worked up and then just ignores you, rejects you, doesn't want you anymore. When he isn't willing to work things out."

Henry smirked. "No, I've never had a boyfriend before."

"Don't make jokes about this. I'm serious, Henry!"

"Okay," he put his hands up in defeat as soon as he heard the crack in her voice. He made his way over to her but before he could reach her she had left her spot.

"This is ridiculous!" she said. "I can't believe Becky thought you would apologize."

"You spoke to Becky?"

She looked at him. "I went to shower in my dorm after my walk. We talked. That's what people do, you know. They talk."

Henry sighed and lowered his head. "Did you talk about us?"

"What?" Elizabeth asked not knowing where this was going.

"Did you tell Becky about our fight?"

"Becky just noticed something was off and I told her. But don't worry, she and Tom won't be coming over for dinner tonight."

"WHAT?" Henry's voice was louder than Elizabeth had ever heard. "Do you really think I've got nothing better to do than shop for your friends who were coming over for dinner tonight without me knowing they were even coming in the first place."

"You did know! I told you last week! And you were fine with it!"

"No, I wasn't!"

"What?" It was Elizabeth's turn to raise her voice.

"I wasn't fine with it. I was preoccupied…"

"Don't put the blame on me again just because I distracted you and we ended up having sex."

"That's not what I meant," Henry spoke softly now.

"Then what?" Elizabeth's hands were in her sides, demanding he clarify himself.

"My mind's been preoccupied with my deployment. I received a letter last week stating I need to do more training as I might be deployed sooner than we think. I just kept thinking about me being away from you for so long. And I just didn't want to worry you. That's why I probably just agreed to having Becky and Tom over for dinner tonight. But, honestly, I had no idea what I was agreeing to."

Elizabeth's hands had dropped to her sides. Tears were forming in her eyes.

"Well," she sighed.

Henry stepped closer to her. She put her hand up, indicating she needed a moment.

"That still doesn't explain last night," she wondered.

Henry took a deep breath before he spoke. "This morning I realized that ever since I got that letter I've been keeping you at a certain distance. I've pushed you away, always studying, always in the gym, always at arm's length. I also realized this morning how it would feel when you …," he stammered.

"When I?"

"When you aren't here with me. When I don't know where you are. When you're not around, when you're not in my life."

"And?" she whispered.

"It sucks!" he stated as simple as that. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the letter. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I've pushed you away. I'm sorry you felt like I didn't want you, because I did. And I do. I will always want you."

He closed the distance between them never taking his eyes away from hers.

"I'm sorry, babe."

She took his head in her hands and smiled softly before pecking his lips. "I'm sorry too."

Henry closed the gap between them and hugged her tightly. "We survived our first fight," he said with a certain pride in his voice.

"It was a stupid fight," Elizabeth snorted.

"Very stupid," Henry acknowledged.

"Baby, I don't mind us fighting, although I prefer we're not," her words earned a smile from Henry. "Let's just not fight anymore before we go to sleep because I really had an awful night."

"Contrary to what you might think, I couldn't sleep either. Make love, not war. I think we can make that work," he kissed her lips again.

"Thank you!"

"So, tired huh?"

"Let's put the groceries away and then see what we can do to save this Valentine's Day." Elizabeth got up and went to the kitchen to put the rest of the groceries away.

"I'll start prepping dinner. You call Becky to tell her she and Tom can still come over."

Elizabeth turned around in disbelief.

"What?" Henry shrugged.

"You're the best, you know that," she stepped towards him to place a kiss to his cheek. "But you're going to work your magic using this," she lifted a pot, "and make us something in no time and then we can, you know, celebrate." She wriggled her eyebrows. "Alone."

"Just you and me?" Henry wanted to hear her confirm.

"Just you and me, babe." She patted his butt and both went to work again in complete silence.

Summer's over and I have more time to write now. Let me know what you think and what you'd like to read in the future.


	14. Chapter 14

First family

 _April 20_ _th_

It had been a little over 6 months since they'd first seen each other and they'd been together for almost half a year now. They were going strong, but the last few months their connection had – if possible even – intensified. There was something between Henry and Elizabeth that was undeniable. Even though neither one of them had pronounced it out loud, a love radiated from them that was obvious to everyone who got to spend time with the happy couple. They didn't need anyone else to be happy; so it seemed. They never got bored when they spent time at Henry's. When they were out with friends, they clung to each other in some way, either by holding hands, putting their hands over each other's shoulders or stealing kisses occasionally. When they were in crowded place, they never wandered far without knowing where the other was and they always, always, found their way back to one another, no matter how crowded or loud it got.

Henry had thought about spending Easter break with his family in Pittsburgh and he really wanted to ask Elizabeth to join him. Yet, he was afraid if she was up for it. When they were in bed, tangled up in each other's arms that night, he was the first one to speak.

"Babe," he whispered while stroking her upper arm with his index finger.

"Hmm," she shifted as she held onto his torso, snuggling even closer towards him.

"You know I said I was going to spend Easter at home," Henry looked up at the ceiling, waiting on her response.

"Uhu," she was drawing slow circles around Henry's nipple and pressed a kiss to his chest.

Henry's hand drew lower down her back, stroking it gently with his fingers. "I wanted to ask you if you might want to join me?"

Elizabeth stopped making her circular movements and lifted her head. "You want me to meet your family?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well," he contemplated, "yeah. I want them to get to know you because we've been together for almost six months now and my mom is really desperate to meet you."

Elizabeth just stared at him.

"Well?" he asked.

"Of course, I want to meet your family. I want to meet the makers of my boyfriend and the siblings that shaped him into you."

"Oh," Henry was pleasantly surprised. "I didn't know you were so eager to meet them."

"Well, yeah, I just didn't know you were up for it. I figured you'd ask me when you're ready and now you obviously are." She kissed his lips.

"I must warn you though, my dad and my sister can be a real pain in the ass," Henry warned her.

"Think I can't handle them?"

"Oh, I think you can handle just about anything, babe," he said with pride and seduction in his voice. "You'll have my dad in your pocket with your knowledge of ball games. Maureen, on the other hand, she's tough but maybe the pregnancy hormones will make things easier for you."

"What about your mom?"

"She's going to love you! I already told her you love to eat, so she's probably going to stuff you with food which is sort of my mom's favourite thing to do. Lots and lots of food."

"Great! So, when are we leaving?

"Well, Easter is on the 26th, 6 days from today."

"Are we going back and forth in one day?" Elizabeth sat up.

"Do you want to stay longer?" Henry didn't know what he was hearing.

"It just seems silly to drive all the way up there, meet and eat, and then come straight back."

"I'll ask my mom if we can come late on Friday then, that way we can spend the weekend in Pittsburgh and drive back on Monday. What do you say?"

"Sounds really good! That way I can enjoy your mother's cooking skills for three days straight," she quipped while she poked Henry's chest.

"It's always about the food, isn't it?" Henry asked as he sat up and slung his arm around his girlfriend's shoulder.

"Always," she deadpanned.

 _April 24_ _th_

"So, your dad's name is Patrick, your mom's name is Barbara, and then there's Maureen, Shane and …," Elizabeth wondered while looking at Henry who was driving.

"Erin," Henry helped.

"Erin, right!" Elizabeth smacked her forehead. She turned and looked out of the window, seeing the scenery flow by.

"Nervous, babe?" Henry asked her lightly.

"Actually, I am," Elizabeth looked down at her hands now. "I mean, I haven't had to deal with parents in quite some time. And now, I'm going to spend three nights at your parents' place."

Henry couldn't help but laugh. "Baby, I'm there with you. It will be fine! I promise." He put his hand on top of hers and squeezed it.

"Will they allow us we share a room, you think?" Elizabeth wondered out loud.

"I'm sure they'll let you sleep with me, in my room. Don't worry. We'll have plenty of privacy." He cast her a seductive smile.

"Henry, I'm not going to have sex with you at your parents'."

"No sex for three days?" he raised his eyebrows.

"Well, I don't want them to overhear us or god forbid walk in on us," Elizabeth's cheeks turned rosy.

"We'll see," Henry smirked.

"What?" Elizabeth asked clueless.

"I just don't think either one of us can go without sex when we're in my very narrow, yet very squeaky single bed."

"Maybe I should ask your mom if I could sleep on the couch. Or in one of your sisters' room," she suggested.

"You wouldn't."

Elizabeth shrugged.

" _I_ can be quiet, you know," Henry emphasized the personal pronoun at the beginning of his sentence.

"Me too, you know, seems like your bed will be the problem," Elizabeth joked back.

"Well, there's always the floor, but I still doubt you'll be able to be quiet," he answered.

"We'll just have to test that, won't we?" she turned her attention back to the fields outside.

"So, we're having sex then? I knew it! I knew you couldn't go without sex for three days."

Elizabeth turned around immediately with her mouth wide opened, shock apparent on her face. "Really, Henry, you think I can't go three days without having sex with you?"

"Exactly!"

"You're on! No sex for three days."

"Uhu!" he smiled. Both of them staring straight in front of them, eyes fixed on the road and the long weekend that lay ahead of them.

An hour and a half later, Henry stopped the car in front of a nice brownstone home in the suburbs of Pittsburgh.

"Baby," he put his hand on her thigh and kissed her awake. Elizabeth slowly opened her eyes. "We're here." He lingered close to her until she turned to him fully, so he could place another kiss to her lips. "You ready?"

Elizabeth took a deep breath and braced herself for what was to come. "Ready as I'll ever be, I guess. Let's go." She kissed Henry on the lips and slid her tongue against his lips for the shortest moment. Before Henry could reciprocate, Elizabeth had already opened her door and got out of the car. As she walked in front of the car, she gestured towards Henry what was taking him so long. The only thing he could think of was how he was going to withstand his girlfriend for three days. Because, if anything, he was not going to be the one who was going to cave first.

Waiting hand in hand on the front door steps, Barbara opened the door with the widest smile on her face. Instead of letting them step inside, she stepped out and put her arms around Elizabeth and hugged her tightly. Henry couldn't help but smile his teeth out as he saw the look of surprise on Elizabeth's face. "Finally, you must be Elizabeth! Henry cannot stop talking about you. It's nice to see a face to the name. Come on in, dear. Welcome with the McCords. I want to know everything there is to know. But first, food."

Henry mouthed 'TOLD YA' and Elizabeth, even though she hadn't had the chance to talk yet, was without a doubt excited.

"Son," was heard from inside the living room. Pat was in his chair reading the newspaper, looking up just to acknowledge the pair.

"Dad," he spoke with a hitch in his voice, "I would like you to meet Elizabeth. Elizabeth, this is my dad Patrick."

Elizabeth stepped into the living room area and held out her hand for Patrick to shake it.

The grey man eyed her and let the paper slip out of his right hand to shake her hand. "Call me Pat, no one calls me Patrick anyway," casting Henry a demeaning glance.

"Okay, nice to meet you Pat. The Steelers are doing great so far this season, don't you think?" Elizabeth spoke as she noticed Pat was reading an article about them in the sports section.

Patrick looked up towards the young blonde in awe.

"I don't think they'd be able to hold onto Merriweather much longer," she stated.

Patrick's mouth fell open. "I swear, I did not prep her, dad. Elizabeth's a football fan. Who's Merriweather by the way?"

Pat and Elizabeth rolled their eyes at Henry's comment and the ice was broken.

"Shane, Erin, get down here! Your brother and Elizabeth are here!" Barbara shouted as she brought the food out of the kitchen and placed it on the dining table.

"Wow, that smells great. Anything I can do to help?"

"Sure, come on, you AND Henry can help me set the rest of the table. We gotta teach these men the chores, right."

While they followed Barbara into the kitchen, Henry whispered in Elizabeth's ear: "They like you more than me, I swear."

"Henry actually does a lot of chores back in Virginia, I'm the one lacking in that department actually."

"Oh, does he? Well, looks like I've raised him well then," she handed Henry the plates. She took out enough cutleries and handed them to Elizabeth. "Us women should not have to do everything, right."

"Right," Elizabeth answered and smiled before following Barbara into the dining room.

Henry just smiled, glad his mother and his girl were getting along.

Dinner was going smoothly. Barbara and Pat were on both sides at the head of the table; Shane and Erin were seated next to each other opposite Henry and Elizabeth.

"Will Maureen be joining us?" Henry asked.

"She's playing house with Tom," Shane joked. "Now that she's pregnant, she tries to be the perfect housewife."

Erin interjected: "I'm sure Tom would rather be eating here though. I swear, Maureen's cooking is the worst."

"Wow! This is delicious," Elizabeth spoke after her first bite.

"Remind me to give you the recipe before you guys head back to Virginia, okay?"

Elizabeth and Henry looked at each other, Elizabeth's face turned a bit red. But Henry squeezed her knee.

"Turns out, Elizabeth and Maureen have something in common. She is not that great with a cooker or a stove, not even with a recipe involved," Elizabeth's face turned even more red as Henry admitted her lack of cooking skills. "But, she is a pro in deciding when the pasta is ready and her sandwiches are to die for."

She smiled at Henry. "Well, I just never had to prepare dinner or help around the household when growing up but Henry is a great help and I do try to learn."

"That's all that matters, dear," Barbara said and squeezed Elizabeth's arm. "Don't worry about any of it."

Elizabeth appreciated the gesture but still felt somewhat bad about the fact that she was not the typical housewife and she couldn't help but wonder if that at one point in their relationship would bother Henry.

After dinner, Elizabeth decided to help doing the dishes with Barbara and Erin while the men brought in some wood for the still rather chilly evenings, even if it was almost May.

"Thank you for letting me stay here with you and your family, Barbara."

"Don't thank me, sweetie. If Henry keeps you in high regard as he obviously does, and which – for the record – I hope he keeps on doing, then you'll always have a place here with our family."

Elizabeth nodded thankfully.

"You're the first girl he brings home. For a moment there, we thought he might be gay. My friends said that would be a total shame."

"What Erin is trying to say, Elizabeth, is that we're all glad he's finally found someone. Someone who he feels comfortable with, comfortable enough to bring home."

"He hasn't had many girlfriends?" Elizabeth wondered.

"Well, he never seemed interested in girls. All girls would be interested in him though. But I've never seen him like this before. The way he looks at you says it all."

Elizabeth blushed.

Just then, Henry and his brother walked back in. He stood behind Elizabeth and wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his head on her shoulder. "What are you girls talking about?" he asked.

"You!" Erin said. "And the fact that you're so popular with the ladies."

It was Henry's turn now to blush.

"Okay, all done," Barbara cheered as she folded the towel and hung it on the edge of the chair. "Thank you, ladies, for helping me out."

"Who wants to play Scrabble?" Erin asked.

Shane, Henry and Elizabeth joined the game while Barbara continued some of her knitting work and Pat watched television. When it was near 11 pm, Barbara yawned.

"Elizabeth, I assume you will be sleeping in Henry's room? Let me just grab some extra pillows and an extra blanket for you, so you'll be comfortable in his room. I'll put it in your room, Henry. Make sure she's comfortable!"

"I will, mom," Henry said at the same time as his girlfriend spoke. "Oh, whatever works for you guys, really. If you'd rather I sleep on the couch or anywhere, I don't mind," Elizabeth affirmed.

"Don't be silly. You're both adults. I'm sure you guys know what you're doing. And although you're still quite young, I wouldn't mind another grandchild coming."

Henry and Elizabeth both stared at Barbara with shocked expressions.

"I'm kidding, kids."

Nevertheless, the blush did not disappear quickly. It even got Elizabeth off her game for a minute. It didn't go unnoticed by Henry but she won again anyway, for the third time that night.

Shane gave up after that and decided to head out to get a couple of beers in town with friends. Elizabeth suggested that if Henry wanted to join him he shouldn't feel obliged to stay with her. Henry, of course, wanted to stay with Elizabeth. A bit later Erin went to her room to read, leaving Henry and Elizabeth alone in the living room with Patrick.

Henry squeezed Elizabeth's hand underneath the table and looked at her, asking her silently if she wanted to go to bed too. She nodded. "Just one more game, just you and me, buster."

"You're on!" Henry challenged her.

It was near midnight when Henry's dad turned off the TV and bid the young couple goodnight. "G'night, Pat," Elizabeth said.

"Your dad isn't that bad," Elizabeth tried to get an answer from Henry once Pat had retreated upstairs.

"This is not how he usually is. He's acted okay this evening; just wait until his accomplice arrives on Sunday. Maureen and my dad, they are like two peas in a pod."

"Well, I thought he was nice; he doesn't say much but he's not a bad guy."

"It's not that he's a bad guy. It's just that… He's not like a father to me. I mean, if we had kids, I would be a totally different father than he is. I would be interested in our kids' lives and the things they do, no matter what they do." Henry meant what he said but he also knew that the topic of kids would make Elizabeth a bit uncomfortable. If he wanted to win, now was the time.

"Kids," Elizabeth repeated.

"Uhu," Henry just acted like it was the most normal thing to discuss.

"How many kids do you want?"

"At least two, five tops."

"Five?"

"Yeah, a large raucous family."

"Wow," Elizabeth huffed.

"You?" Henry asked.

"Well, one for starters. We'll see how I feel after I've pushed that first one out."

Henry laughed. "I'm sure you'll do great, babe."

"Okay, enough with the baby talk," Elizabeth laughed. "I'm not ready for that yet, and it's a bit scary to talk about it. So scary I might not even want to have," she mouthed SEX "in the next year."

"That, we can't have," Henry confirmed.

Elizabeth of course won their Scrabble duel after her comment about "no sex for a year" and decided Henry could take his revenge tomorrow or so and that it was time for bed.

Henry took her hand and led her upstairs into the dimly lit hallway. "This is my mom and dad's room. This is Erin's but she's probably already asleep. Shane's out, he sleeps in this room. And the end of the hall, that's mine. And the bathroom is the second door to your right. Maureen's room is next to mine."

After they'd brushed their teeth in the bathroom, Elizabeth looked around and held Henry's hand with both her hands as he opened his bedroom door and turned on the lights.

"TADA," Henry gestured. "This is it."

Elizabeth let her eyes scan the room. "It's nice. Orderly. Just like your place. And more books."

"I just don't have enough room in my apartment to stack all of them."

"So," Elizabeth started. "How are we going to do this?"

Henry took off his sweater and pants. Clad in his boxers and T-shirt, he crawled into his single bed. Already it made a cracking sound. "Come here, babe," he gestured for her to come lie next to him. "It'll be cosy."

"Can I borrow a PJ of yours?" she asked as she took off her pants first.

"I'll keep you warm."

"Henry, I'm serious about this."

"So am I."

"Fine," she took off her sweater too. She left on her tank top but undid her bra and pulled it out from underneath.

Henry swallowed as she stood there. She crawled in next to him. They both lay on their sides facing each other. Henry engulfed her into his warm embrace.

"Goodnight, babe," he whispered as he put a soft kiss to her forehead.

"Night," she sighed and snuggled closer to his warm body.

The next morning, Elizabeth was woken by Henry's soft kisses on her cheek that were travelling closer to her lips.

"Hmmm," she murmured.

"Good morning babe!" Henry whispered as he continued placing soft kisses to her face as he hovered over her.

"Mornin'," she responded with a sleepy voice. "What time is it?" Elizabeth asked turning her head towards Henry's bedside table to have a look at the alarm clock.

"What the heck?! Henry, it's 6.30." She put her hands on his shoulders.

"I know!" He went lower and put soft kisses on her chest as his hands travelled farther south.

"Henry," she sighed. "Don't!" She turned on her other side a bit more and snuck lower underneath the covers.

He peeked up. "Don't, because you're afraid we'd make ourselves heard or don't, because you don't want to."

"Because I don't want to…." She paused. Her voice was still thick with sleep. Henry's face fell. "Be heard," she finished her sentence and smirked.

"We can be quiet. Very quiet."

"I know," she turned around again and pecked his sleeps. "Let's just sleep for a bit longer. I'm not nearly ready to get up yet."

Henry sighed. "Who said anything about getting up?"

Elizabeth crept closer to him and nestled underneath his chin and against his chest. "Ssst," she wrapped her arms around his warm body.

Henry smiled and took his girlfriend in his arms and closed his eyes again, trying to get passed his need for Elizabeth.

It was after 9.30 am when Elizabeth heard muffled noises coming from downstairs. She was still in Henry's arms and opened one eye to look at the alarm clock she had looked at earlier that morning.

"Henry," she poked him, "Henry, baby, wake up!"

"What?" he growled and turned his face away from her.

"It's almost 10."

"So?"

"What will your parents say?"

"They're probably just out of bed themselves, seriously babe, go back to sleep." Henry put his arm around Elizabeth and pulled her closer again.

Elizabeth, on the other hand, was ready to start the day and head downstairs. She kissed Henry's cheek before she put on her pants and sweater and headed for the bathroom and then down the stairs.

"Hi," she peeked her head into the kitchen.

"Morning, dear, you're up early," Henry's mom said as she poured herself a hot cup of coffee.

Elizabeth thought she was being sarcastic. "I'm sorry, I rarely sleep in."

"I wasn't joking, love. The other ones won't be up before noon." Barbara lifted the coffee pot to ask if Elizabeth also wanted a cup.

"Oh," Elizabeth uttered and smiled, gladly accepting the full cup of coffee.

"So, what are the plans for today?" Elizabeth asked.

"Well, we're going to have breakfast first," she handed Elizabeth a bowl and took one for herself as well. "Pat went to fix a fence at Maureen's. I told him to do it today so I can start with the preparations for Easter dinner tomorrow. If he's here, he just keeps on touching and stealing food."

"Can I help with something? I mean, nothing too important though."

"Are you sure; maybe Henry has something planned for the both of you."

"He didn't mention it, besides he's not up yet. So I'd be glad to help you until he's up."

"Okay," Barbara gave her a genuine smile. "Do you want to cut the vegetables? First, the onions, then all the rest. I'll start the cooking then."

"Sure," Elizabeth gladly accepted. Slicing vegetables was something she could definitely handle.

"Did you sleep well?" Barbara asked.

"Yeah, like a baby."

"Bed not too small for the both of you?" There was a funny ring to Barbara's voice as she cleared the breakfast bowls off the table.

Elizabeth blushed.

"So, Maureen, when am I going to meet her?" Elizabeth asked desperate to change the awkward subject.

"She and Tom will come over tomorrow morning. We'll do brunch together and then the kids will probably go outside while Pat takes a nap and I prepare the rest of dinner."

"I really admire your taking-care-of-your-family-skills."

"Don't worry, once you start your own little family, you'll find it's no trouble at all."

Elizabeth frowned.

"Do you want kids, Elizabeth?"

"Uhm, yeah, I think I do. Not now, of course, but maybe someday. Henry wants five, he says."

"Henry's a family guy. He says the others drive him crazy sometimes – that's why he wanted to go away to college – but he couldn't live without them."

"Erin and Shane are really nice," Elizabeth stated.

"They are. And they are not the cats to dog Henry. Just wait till Maureen gets here."

"Actually, Henry warned me about her," the onions were chopped and Elizabeth handed the plate to Barbara.

"Well, Maureen can be a bit feisty sometimes, but she's a soft bun on the inside. But if she misbehaves, I'll tell her to keep her thoughts to herself. Don't you worry about her!"

Elizabeth started on the mushrooms next. "Thanks!"

"How many do you want?"

"Excuse me," Elizabeth stopped chopping.

"Kids?" Barbara asked while stirring.

"Oh, euhm, well, I haven't given it much thought yet. Henry and I are still quite new. But I know I don't want five."

"I doubt Henry will want five too," Barbara laughed.

Elizabeth joined her and both women kept on talking and cooking until around noon.

"Glad you finally decided to get up," Barbara said as Henry came into the kitchen. His hair still a mess.

"Where's Elizabeth?" Henry asked.

"She offered to go to the bakery and place the order for the croissants and bagels for tomorrow morning," Barbara said.

"When did she leave?" Henry looked at the clock above the door.

"Half an hour ago. She'll be right back."

"Good," Henry said, the relief apparent in his voice.

"Had a rough night?" Barbara asked as she went through Henry's hair.

"Mom," Henry whined as he pulled away from his mother's hand.

"You and Elizabeth seem to be a tight unit," Barbara stated.

"We are."

"Do you love her?"

"Mom?!"

"What?" she lifted her shoulders and raised her hands. "Do you?"

"I think so."

"What do you mean, you think so?"

"We haven't said that out loud yet, so I don't know if she loves me." Henry sounded insecure all of a sudden.

"Are you telling me you don't know whether or not you love the first girl you ever brought home for an entire weekend just because she hasn't said it first?"

"Well," Henry started.

"That's not how I raised you."

"I know, it's just…"

"What?" Barbara put her hands across her chest.

"Do you think she loves me?" Henry sounded like a love-struck schoolboy.

"What I think doesn't matter, Henry."

"I know, mom. I'm just scared that if I tell her, she'll freak out and leave me."

"Yeah, sure, I'm sure she would have bolted after the five kids comment you made."

"She told you?" Henry was in awe.

"Yeah, lots of things can happen while you're sleeping."

Henry bowed his head and leaned against the kitchen cabinets.

Barbara stepped closer and ruffled his hair again before looking into her son's eyes and telling him: "You find out how you feel about her because I already love her and your father has never spoken more highly of anyone in the past ten years." She made her way out of the kitchen but popped her head back in: "Oh, and I'm 100 per cent sure she loves you back."

Saturday went by in a blink. After again a lavish dinner prepared by Barbara and a Pictionary night, Henry and Elizabeth were getting ready for bed again.

"I've missed you today," Henry said as he eyed her undressing.

"What do you mean? We spent all day together, silly," she said smacking him.

"I know, but I don't like sharing you with anyone."

Elizabeth smiled widely. "You want me all to yourself?"

Henry nodded eagerly.

"Good thing, it's just the two of us in your tiny bed then."

"You don't want my family here, do you?"

"Dork!" Elizabeth smacked him even harder this time.

Henry quickly grabbed hold of her wrist and pulled her towards him.

He looked deep into her eyes and placed a lingering kiss to her forehead.

Elizabeth looked up at him and pulled him closer so he could wrap her into his arms.

As they were standing there, in the midst of his childhood bedroom, Henry whispered: "Babe?"

She spoke softly, "Yeah?"

Again, he looked deep into her eyes. The words were on his lips but he couldn't say them out loud. Not yet. Not now. Not here. "Ready for bed?"

Elizabeth closed her eyes affirming she was indeed ready.

Henry took her hands and led her to his bed. He crawled in first and opened his arms for Elizabeth to join him.

"Sleep, babe," he ordered her as he draped his arm across her shoulder.

Elizabeth searched for his eyes in the dark. Her blue eyes seemed to light up. "Nothing funky tonight?"

It earned her a chuckle from Henry. "Not tonight."

"Goodnight, babe." He kissed her softly on the lips.

"Henry?" she whispered.

"Yeah, babe?" Was she going to say it?

He looked at her expectantly. His eyes drowning in her blue ones.

She hesitated for a moment before she finally opened her mouth. "Thanks for bringing me here, to your family,"

He hugged her closer and let sleep come.

"Maureen!" Barbara's voice was harsh as she ordered her daughter to behave.

"What? I'm just curious as to how Elizabeth here is able to afford our rather expensive Easter brunch and why she decided to buy each and every one of us gifts."

Henry and Elizabeth had got up early in the morning to get the order she had placed on Saturday morning with the bakery. Elizabeth had not stuck to Barbara's list. She'd also bought two bottles of champagne to thank Henry's parents for their hospitality. She'd also bought a small bouquet to put on the table. And she'd gotten Henry's three siblings something small. She'd bought a sixpack of beer for Shane, a book for Erin and some mother/baby toiletries from Bed Bath and Beyond for Maureen and her unborn baby. Now, she wished she hadn't. As soon as Maureen was

"I just wanted to thank you all for welcoming me into your family. It's just something small, I didn't mean to set the wrong impression."

Barbara placed her hand on Elizabeth's wrist while the rest of the family kept their heads down and ate. Henry's hand was on Elizabeth's knee and he squeezed it. "Don't worry, love, we all really appreciate it! Don't we, Maureen?" she eyed her oldest daughter questioningly.

"Seems like you need to buy Henry's love?" Maureen quipped.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I didn't get Henry anything. It's really just meant as a thank you. Nothing more, nothing less," Elizabeth responded.

Maureen gave her mom a nod. "How are you able to pay for all this? Do you have a job back in Virginia?"

"No, I …," Elizabeth had no time to finish her sentence.

"Jeez, you're not paying her, are you?" She directed her question towards her brother.

Henry got up, his chair tumbled backwards and Elizabeth jumped up in surprise.

"That's enough!" Henry shouted while he pointed towards his sister.

"Maureen, apologize, right, now!" Barbara's voice was harsh.

"I was kidding!" Maureen spoke as she looked up at Henry.

"No one's laughing," Pat opened his mouth for the first time.

Maureen's face fell at her father's words.

"Well, seems like you've wrapped up everyone around your pretty little finger. Bravo!" Her eyes pierced Elizabeth's.

"I just want to say, Maureen, that I have no intention of wrapping anyone around my finger." She swallowed before she continued: "I genuinely wanted to thank all of you here for having me and welcoming me. Now, as for how I've paid for all of this, not that it's any of your business, but I have a trust fund set aside for me and every month I get a certain amount of money to pay for the things I need." Her voice broke, "I need a family, and I think I've found one right here with you guys. I'd happily spend part of my allowance on you. Besides, it seems only fair to give something in return after all the things your family has given me. Excuse me."

Elizabeth left the table and made her way to the front door. Henry made a move to follow her, but Pat beat him to the punch leaving his son more shocked than he already was after what had just happened.

Pat sat down next to Elizabeth on the front steps of his house.

"You're a tough one, kid, anyone else would have left the premises by now."

She side-eyed Henry's father. "I just needed some air," she swallowed the tears she was holding back.

"Maureen and I often see eye to eye but she's completely wrong this time, you know."

"I knew it would be difficult, Henry had warned me about her. I guess I just never expected this…" she pointed towards the inside of the house as if the conversation was something that would be present permanently from now on.

"If I know my wife, and I think I do, she's giving our daughter hell in there right now." Pat made the same gesture with his hand.

It earned him a small smile from Elizabeth.

"Thanks, Pat."

Patrick responded by bumping his shoulder against Elizabeth's. "You're welcome. And I really do hope we'll see you back here for Thanksgiving."

"You bet." Elizabeth nodded.

"Now, I don't know about you but I hate it when my wife's roast beef goes to waste. From what I've seen so far, you're not someone to lose your appetite easily." He held out his hand and Elizabeth let Patrick McCord pull her up. Together they made their way back inside. Everyone was quietly eating. Maureen's face looked paler than before. Henry looked questioningly at Elizabeth. She sat back down next to him and put her hand on his thigh.

Henry placed a kiss to her ear and then put his hand on top of hers that was still resting on his leg.

Not much was said during the rest of dinner. The atmosphere was tense to say the least. As Barbara and her daughters did the dishes, Tom and Shane were playing a game of chess. Henry was outside with Elizabeth. Patrick was watching them from the window that overlooked their garden.

"Are you alright, babe?"

Elizabeth just nodded.

"I'm so sorry about Maureen." Henry took his girlfriend's arms.

"It's fine. Nothing you can do about it."

"I'm sure my mom spelled it out for her that she can't be treating you like this."

Elizabeth offered him a small smile. "That's what your dad said."

"What else did he say?" Henry asked her.

"That he didn't agree with anything Maureen said during dinner."

Henry hugged her. They stood in the garden enveloped in each other's arms. The evening glow casting a golden shine over the couple.

Pat saw Elizabeth say something and she made her way back inside of the hands. She held on to Henry's hands for as long as she could. She smiled as she saw Patrick standing in front of the window.

As Elizabeth entered, Pat made his way out towards his son.

In the meantime, Maureen and Tom had silently headed back to their place while Barbara was putting everything away, and Elizabeth and Erin started a card game. Henry was outside in the garden with his dad.

"Son," Pat put his hand on Henry's shoulder. "That girl you brought here definitely is something." They sat together in silence for a bit.

"What did you say to her?" Henry wanted to know after 15 minutes or so.

"Not much. Something about roast beef." Patrick looked at Henry and smiled. Henry chuckled. To Henry, it felt like a father/son-moment he'd never experienced before.

"She's also coming back for Thanksgiving, she said."

Henry's eyes grew wide. "Really? She said that?"

Patrick nodded. "I told your mom on Friday, she's a real keeper."

"Thanks, dad."

Patrick squeezed his son's shoulder and made his way inside again. "Come on, it's getting chilly." Henry followed him.

"Oh, mom, really," Henry whined as he noticed what was going on inside.

Elizabeth had tears in her eyes from laughing at the anecdotes Barbara was telling her.

"What? Elizabeth should know you liked to dress up like a girl until you were about 12." Barbara leaned in closer to Elizabeth and the two women laughed so hard.

"Okay, okay, that's it," Henry took his childhood picture book from his mother's lap. "Mother, not funnyyy."

"Oh, come on, Henry. It think it's adorable," Elizabeth admitted.

She grabbed the book from his arms again and opened it back to the page they had last seen. "Come sit with me, babe."

Elizabeth cast him loving looks as she browsed through his childhood memories. Henry, on the other hand, seemed somewhat embarrassed.

When they were done, Elizabeth closed the book and kissed Henry's cheek.

"What time are you leaving tomorrow," Barbara wondered.

Henry and Elizabeth looked at each other.

"First thing in the morning," Henry answered.

"Do you need to go back to school tomorrow?" Patrick asked.

"No, but we still have some paperwork to finish," Henry admitted.

Elizabeth turned around and looked at Henry questioningly.

"Well, I'll make sure breakfast is ready for you tomorrow morning," Barbara said.

"There's no need for you to get up," Elizabeth interfered. "We'll manage with some cornflakes and we can always stop underway for a snack."

"And have you leave without saying goodbye. Na-a. Ain't gonna happen."

Elizabeth and Henry smiled.

At 11.30, Elizabeth and Henry were halfway on their route back to UVA.

"I really love your family," Elizabeth had said.

Henry smiled at her. He was glad she'd had such a great time but he couldn't help but wonder if she loved him as well. His talk to his mother had really got him thinking. He was one hundred percent sure he was in love with the woman sitting next to him. This weekend had made that all the more clear. He was just waiting for the right time to tell her and hoped she would reciprocate his love.

"I'm gonna make a quick stop right here to fill up the tank," Henry said as he left the highway.

As Henry turned off the engine, Elizabeth got out of the car. "I gotta pee," she said. Henry nodded.

When she came back, Henry was paying for his gas. She lend against the door of the driver.

"What?" he asked with a huge smile.

"You're really sexy, you know that."

"Oh yeah?" He took out his handkerchief and cleaned his hands.

"Yeah." Elizabeth raised her eyebrows.

"Anything you want to do about that?" Henry was already getting turned on.

"Maybe…" was Elizabeth's reply.

"Maybe?"

"Well, I kinda liked us not having sex for three days. It only adds to the tension and desire, you know."

"Oh, does it?"

"It does."

"Okay, get in the car," Henry ordered.

Elizabeth quickly walked around the car and jumped in as Henry started the engine again and sped away.


	15. First I love you

First _I love you_

 _April 30_ _th_

"Henry," she sighed with frustration.

He stopped his movements and lifted his head to look into her eyes. "What is it, babe?"

"Stop teasing," she wished out loud. Their foreplay seemed never-ending and the tip of his erection had been exploring her territory for long enough now.

"Miss impatient," he smiled wide while kissing her fully on the lips before dragging himself along her wet folds again.

"I mean it, Henry," she lifted one of her eyebrows and gave him a look to kill.

"Uhu," he murmured as he let his mouth travel towards her breasts to explore even more of that territory.

Elizabeth followed his every move and sighed heavily before closing her eyes. She put her hands over her head and decided to just let Henry have it his way.

As he was exploring her abdomen and inhaled her scent, Henry sat upright on his knees in between Elizabeth's legs.

"Oh my god," frustration evident in her voice. "Henry, you can't be serious," the loss of physical contact caused her to open her eyes quickly to stare down at him.

Leaning on her elbows, she lifted her hands questioningly at him.

"I love you," he spoke. Just like that he said it, three small words that held the universe in them.

Elizabeth searched his eyes and swallowed hard.

"I love you," he stated the obvious again. The seriousness in his voice made her shiver.

He took her hands and hoisted her up into his lap in one swift movement.

"I love you so much," he snaked his arms around her lower back and pulled her even closer towards him, never not looking at her.

"For being who you are, for what you do, to me and for me, for loving me."

Her eyes started to shine. Emotion got the better of her and she was unable to say anything.

"That is, if you do love me back, of course," Henry was suddenly feeling uncertain and searched her eyes for answers.

She nodded. Slowly at first, then with more determination.

She hugged him tightly. Their bodies pressed together, her arms around his neck, locking him as close to her as possible.

"Say it, babe," he whispered in her ear.

She kissed his shoulder.

"I need to hear you say it," he placed a kiss to her hair and inhaled the scent of her shampoo.

"Henry, I …" was all she could whisper.

He cradled her head and pulled her back just the slightest so he could look at her fully.

"What is it?" he looked at her with concern.

"I do," she answered and nodded her head affirmatively.

"Then tell me," he softly put his lips to hers.

"I…," she stalled.

Henry looked at her with worry in his eyes. His courage was disappearing slowly and insecurity got the better of him. He pushed her off him, slowly.

She sat on her knees and took his head into her hands. Her thumbs caressing his cheeks, she started to speak.

"I'm scared, Henry," she searched his eyes to see if he could possibly understand her train of thought.

He lowered his head but she lifted it before he had the chance to block her out.

"It's been quite a few years since I've said those words out loud. And the only people I've ever told are gone," her voice cracked. "I don't want to lose you."

"You're not going to lose me," he kissed the inside of her hand as he brought his hands to hers.

"I'm here, babe," he brought both her hands to his mouth to kiss them, "I promise."

"I know," she nodded. But still, she couldn't make herself say the words she so desperately wanted Henry to hear out loud.

She dropped her head in her hands before falling backwards onto the bed.

Henry lay down beside her.

"It's okay," he grabbed her by her waist and pulled her closer into his body. "I understand if you're not ready. I'll wait."

"I am ready. That's just it. I've been wanting to tell you for some time now, but I never seem to have the courage to do so."

"Come here," he dragged her closer so she could rest her head on his chest. He draw lazy circles on her lower back.

"I know you do," he kissed the crown of her head. "That's enough."

He could her hear train of thought rumble through her head as if she was contemplating if she should or should not tell him.

After lying entangled in each other's arms for a couple of minutes, drawing patterns along each other's bodies, she lifted her head and had a wicked grin on her face.

Henry didn't know what to make of that and just looked at her while she lifted her leg and draped it across his middle.

Straddling him, she lowered her head and kissed him slowly on the lips. His lower lip got caught between her lips as she sucked it. Releasing it, she kissed a slow path towards his ear and nibbled his earlobe. She whispered it ever so softly that even Henry was unsure he'd heard correctly.

She retook her previous position and hovered above his face. She smiled. The most beautiful smile he'd ever seen on her. Henry answered it and pulled her down to him. He hugged her so close to his body, she thought he'd never let her go every again.

She pecked the corner of his mouth before whispering the three precious words in his other ear again, just a notch louder this time.

"I love you, Henry," she kissed his cheek again and sat up.

She added out loud: "You have no idea how very much."


End file.
